CHIHUAHUAS' OWNER IN COURT ON CRUELTY CHARGES.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - A retired school cafeteria manager from whom county officials seized more than 200 Chihuahuas was ordered Friday to stand trial on felony animal cruelty and other charges. Emma Harter, 72, of Acton was bound over for trial following a two-day preliminary hearing at which a Los Angeles County veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. testified that the dogs lived in unsanitary un·san·i·tar·y adj. Not sanitary. conditions, suffered a variety of diseases and lacked proper medical care. Harter, who is free on her written promise to appear in court, has pleaded not guilty to charges that include animal cruelty, misdemeanor battery on an animal-control officer, running an illegal kennel, animal endangerment, keeping animals in unsanitary conditions and failing to isolate sick animals. Judge Lisa Chung dismissed a misdemeanor public nuisance public nuisance n. a nuisance which affects numerous members of the public or the public at large, as distinguished from a nuisance which only does harm to a neighbor or a few private individuals. count because county officials did not give the defendant notice and time to correct the problem as required, Deputy District Attorney Steven Heller said. Veterinarian Josie Zabala testified that the dogs suffered from tick infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. , multiple types of worms, eye infection, dermatitis dermatitis (dûr'mətī`tĭs), nonspecific irritation of the skin. The causative agent may be a bacterium, fungus, or parasite; it can also be a foreign substance, known as an allergen. and other skin conditions, including mange mange (mānj), contagious skin disease of domestic and wild animals. The several types of mange, including follicular and sarcoptic mange, are caused by various minute parasitic mites that burrow into skin, hair follicles, or sweat glands. , which is caused by parasites, Heller said. Zabala said aggressive animals among Harter's dogs had attacked the others, Heller said. Zabala also said necessary medical treatment was not provided, Heller said. When they seized the dogs last November, animal-control officers said, they found dead and dying dogs and feces 2 inches deep covering the house's carpeting. The dogs had dug burrows in the walls and furniture, and a headless chicken was on the living room floor, officials said. In early August, Chung gave a Burbank Chihuahua rescue group some 170 Chihuahuas taken from Harter's home. The rescue group promised to try to find good homes for the dogs. The seized dogs were housed at a county shelter in Baldwin Park, where a number of them died or had to be euthanized because of their physical condition, officials said. On Aug. 29, Chung also ordered Harter to give up two dogs that remained at her home. They were a male and a female and had not been spayed spay tr.v. spayed, spay·ing, spays To remove surgically the ovaries of (an animal). [Middle English spaien, from Anglo-Norman espeier, to cut with a sword or neutered neu·ter adj. 1. Grammar a. Neither masculine nor feminine in gender. b. Neither active nor passive; intransitive. Used of verbs. 2. a. . Harter found someone to keep the dogs for her during her case, court officials said. Harter had been convicted in 1995 for operating an illegal kennel, but that conviction was overturned on appeal. Karen Maeshiro, (661) 267-5744 karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com |
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