Local animal cruelty case gets national attention

By Brittany Whitley

Published: July 16, 2008

A case of animal cruelty against a puppy at an Opelika mobile home park last month was so excessive the Humane Society of the United States is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible, Lee County Sheriff’s Office lead investigator Capt. Van Jackson said Wednesday.

Authorities learned about the case on June 4 when a concerned citizen called from the park, which is located off Lee Road 922.

“The puppy was being tortured,” Jackson said. “After a series of events, the puppy died.”

According to Jackson, the small brown and black mutt was found beaten and cut. Sticks were wedged through different areas of the dog’s body.

“Because of the degree of the various types of torture ... it made it an excessive case of cruelty,” he said.

The dog was also repeatedly dunked underwater and placed on a wire spindle that was spun until the dog fell off.

More than one person was involved, Jackson said.

“We are looking at a couple of juvenile suspects in this case,” Jackson said. “Because it is a misdemeanor offense, they could be looking at at least a year of imprisonment.”

The sheriff’s office receives several cruelty complaints a year, Jackson said.

“This is probably the most aggravated case we have had reported in quite some time ...,” he said.

Jackson said he thought the victim was the puppy of a stray.

Initially, the Lee County Humane Society responded to the call.

“Because of the severity of the case, we handed it over to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office,” said Heather Meadows, director of the Lee County Humane Society. “That puppy had been mutilated.”

Jama Singley, animal cruelty investigator at the Lee County Humane Society, has been working with the sheriff’s office to solve the case.

“There are varying (degrees of cruelty) … This is the worst I’ve seen,” she said.

Singley has worked for the LCHS since 2000.