Once abandoned, dogs face difficult obstacles

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer Updated 11:43 AM Wednesday, December 15, 2010

In three years serving as a dog warden for the Humane Society Serving Clark County, Inc., Charles Crislip has seen dozens of dogs abandoned in backyards, along county roads and inside deserted homes.

“There are ways you can tell how long a dog’s been out there on some situations, but not always,” Crislip said.

Often, the animals are thin or dehydrated, and those that have been abandoned rarely stray far from where they are dropped off. Crislip said many times, the dogs expect their owners to return to pick them up.

“They don’t go too far from one area where they’ve been left,” he said.

Because the Humane Society also serves as the county dog warden, they are responsible for responding to calls across more than 400 square miles. The number of calls per day varies, but Crislip estimated he handles about one call per day to respond to a pet that has been abandoned. Calls for stray dogs are more common, and sometimes more than 30 come in a single day.

In most cases of abandonment, Crislip said the dogs are typically healthy, although they are often hungry and in many cases fleas or mange are an issue.

While less common, Crislip said there are also cases in which the animals are left in abandoned homes, or chained up with no access to food or fresh water.

The worst this year, he said, was a call in May in which he responded to a home in the 400 block of West State Street. There, he found a dog that had died after being left alone in the home.

Investigators were able to locate the owner, George Bishop, of 1372 W. Pleasant St. According to information from Clark County Municipal Court, Bishop pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to an animal. Additional charges of abandoned animals and failure to register a dog were dismissed.

Bishop, who could not be reached for comment, was sentenced to pay $296 in fines and court costs, and ordered to serve seven days community service. He was also ordered to serve 30 days in jail, but the sentence was suspended.

Jimmy Straley, executive director of the Humane Society Serving Clark County Inc., said the agency will accept dropped-off pets for as little as $30, so leaving pets to fend for themselves is inexcusable.

But even leaving the dogs to fend for themselves outside is better than abandoning them chained or trapped in a home to slowly starve.

“There’s no good way,” Crislip said of abandoned dogs. “But chaining it up and keeping it confined is the worst way because it has no chance at all.”