Omaha man charged with animal cruelty is accused of letting his two pit bulls starve to death
Officers with the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force arrested Shane T. Palmer, 43, on a felony animal cruelty warrant that had been obtained by Nebraska Humane Society investigators.
www.omaha.com
Officers with the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force arrested Shane T. Palmer, 43, on a felony animal cruelty warrant that had been obtained by Nebraska Humane Society investigators.
On Jan. 9, officials said, the bodies of the two male dogs, Pokie and Boss, were found after they had been thrown down a ravine east of Palmer’s house near 16th and Pratt Streets in northeast Omaha. The dogs had no tags, officials said, but one had been microchipped. The microchip led investigators to Palmer's house.
A necropsy by a Nebraska Humane Society veterinarian verified the primary cause of death as starvation and hypothermia as the secondary cause, officials said.
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Last month, a 25-year-old Omaha woman was arrested after authorities said she allowed her pit bull to starve to death.
Ayeshea Colbenson was charged with one felony count of animal neglect or abandonment resulting in death.
[....]Omaha woman arrested after authorities determine her pit bull starved to death
Ayeshea Colbenson was arrested Wednesday. She has been charged with one felony count of animal neglect or abandonment resulting in death.www.omaha.com
On Jan. 1, Colbenson called the Humane Society to have workers remove the body of the dog from her apartment near 48th Street and Lafayette Avenue.
Animal Control Officer Nicholas Walton found Bella’s body on its side in the living room and said it “appeared to have been placed there,” according to a court affidavit.
Colbenson told Walton that Bella died in her kennel and soiled herself, so she removed the dog’s body and bathed it.
Walton noticed that the dog’s body smelled like it had been bathed, but the dog’s paw pads were urine-stained.
Bella was emaciated — with her ribs, hip bones and vertebrae visible and her eyes sunken in, according to the affidavit.
Walton asked Colbenson about this and she said Bella had gotten sick and stopped eating after being fed bacon grease two weeks before.
Colbenson claimed that she had called her veterinarian, who she said advised her to force-feed Bella.
Colbenson showed Walton a glass bowl and a baby bottle she said she used in an unsuccessful attempt to force-feed the dog.
She told Walton that the dog had improved until two days earlier. She said she didn’t feel comfortable calling the Humane Society because she had a previous animal citation.
Walton, the animal control officer, later called Colbenson’s veterinarian’s office. The office staff said they had performed routine vaccinations for Bella months ago but they did not recall any recent phone calls from Colbenson.
Officials performed a necropsy and found “a large amount” of chicken soup and cottage cheese in Bella’s stomach.
The dog had not been suffering from any ailments, authorities said, but her lack of body fat and muscle atrophy showed ongoing starvation.
Colbenson had received five animal complaints since 2016, two involving urine and feces that were not being cleaned up and allegations that she had been keeping the dog in a kennel without access to food and water.
If convicted, Colbenson faces a maximum of two years in prison.