 Barked: Tue Apr 11, '06 2:31am PST |
 | |  | | When animal rescuers working on a tip arrived at a Roosevelt garage recently, they found a disturbing scene: a dead dog that looked like a "skeleton covered with fur" and a severely malnourished dog with sores on its legs and hindquarters, a Nassau animal protection official said yesterday.
The dogs' caretakers, Orin Green Sr., 67, and his son Orin C. Green, 34, were arrested on March 28 on two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and torturing animals, a misdemeanor, Nassau police said.
Investigators found the pit bull terriers, covered in feces and urine, chained inside the garage at the Greens' home on 127 Hudson Ave. The dead animal, a female puppy no more than 6 months old, had died days before, Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals officials said. "It's a shame how a dog ends up like that," said Bob Sowers, an SPCA volunteer investigator.
The Greens were arrested after the SPCA agents found the emaciated pit bull terriers on the evening of March 25 at their home.
A third pit bull was outside the home in apparent good health. The dog found in the garage was so malnourished, it weighed 28 pounds. Normal weight for a dog his size would be about 40 to 50 pounds, Sowers said.
All three dogs were taken to the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter. The surviving dogs - a male and female about 2 years old - were doing fine yesterday. The Greens - who were cited and released on Tuesday - declined to comment on the charges yesterday.
SPCA officials said they decided to investigate the Greens after a worried neighbor called the agency with a tip.
Yesterday, shelter workers tried to find the surviving dogs new homes.
"We are going to do everything in our power to make sure there is a happy outcome for these animals," Hempstead Town spokesman Mike Deery said. |  |  | |  |
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