Two women are charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after authorities say they abandoned a litter of puppies trapped in a container outside in 95-degree heat, less than a mile from the Cherokee County Animal Shelter.
According to the Cherokee Marshal’s Office, animal control officers received a report July 27 of a box on the side of the road in Canton, where they found seven puppies inside — all dead.
In arrest warrants, the marshal’s office says Amber Higdon, 29, and Ashley Vernon, 21, took the puppies to the shelter earlier that day to turn them in. Animal shelter employees told them to wait in their car because there was a cat in the lobby, and to have their ID ready.
The marshal’s office reports that because Higdon didn’t have her ID, they left — she later told authorities that her ID was in a wrecked vehicle at a local body shop and towing business.
Vernon, who was driving, later told authorities that the puppies were whining in the car, and Higdon “screamed” at her to pull over, per their arrest warrants. When Vernon pulled over, Higdon took the tub with the puppies in it and left it on the side of the road, authorities said.
According to the marshal’s office, the puppies were left for hours in a pink storage tote that was too tall for them to escape, in the sun, with no shade or proper ventilation, and without water - on a day when the temperature reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit. They were estimated to be about three weeks old.
“The puppies baked in the sun for approximately 6 hours before someone saw the box on the side of the road,” the marshal’s office said in the warrants.
The warrants say the women never made any phone calls to 911, the shelter, or animal control to report where the puppies were or made any attempt to go back to them.
Asked why they didn’t use Higdon’s ID, Vernon told authorities she didn’t want to, and they figured someone would find the dogs, according to the marshal’s office.
Higdon is charged with seven counts aggravated cruelty to animals - causing the death of an animal, seven counts of aggravated cruelty to animals - custody or control/possession, and is additionally charged with violating probation.
Vernon is charged with seven counts of aggravated cruelty to animals - causing the death of an animal, and seven counts of domesticated animals.
You must be logged in to see or use the Shoutbox. Besides, if you haven't registered, you really should. It's quick and it will make your life a little better. Trust me. So just register and make yourself at home with like-minded individuals who share either your morbid curiousity or sense of gallows humor.
