CHICKASHA, OK - On Wednesday afternoon, a greyhound dog named "Sweetheart" looked like skin and bones. But while being cared for by Fasthound Greyhound Adoption, she's actually gained nine pounds in the last three weeks. On August 12th, she was found at a home in Chickasha with a cable cutting into her back leg, down to the bone. Maggots were on the wound.
A Chickasha police report says the dog looked as if it had not been fed in weeks. An officer found a bowl of water that was "filled with green slime and full of what seemed to be tadpoles."
The owner, Bethany Gobert, was charged with three municipal misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and abandonment. She plead guilty to the charges, but says she never noticed the dog's condition because she only fed it at night.
"I did not know anything about it," Gobert said at her house. "I was coming outside long enough to drop off food and water and go back inside. That was it."
She added that she's had trouble keeping up the dog's weight.
"This is the first time anything's ever happened. Accidents happen. It was not an intentional outcome."
Paul Oratowski, with Fasthound Greyhound Adoption, doesn't believe Gobert's story.
"If she could see enough to get the food out there, where it's supposed to be for her, she had to have been able to see her."
Lori Robinson, with Haven Of Hope Rescue, is upset Chickasha police didn't file felony charges with the Grady County D.A., which could carry prison time.
"We condone this kind of behavior, then wonder why our children and elderly are abused and neglected," Robinson says. "It sends a signal to say 'that's ok. As long as it's not intentional, then you won't have to pay for it'."
Chickasha police did not have time for an interview, but said the three citations totaled a $414 fine.
Sweetheart is up for adoption. For information, we've posted a link to our website. Just log on to www.kfor.com/links.
A Chickasha police report says the dog looked as if it had not been fed in weeks. An officer found a bowl of water that was "filled with green slime and full of what seemed to be tadpoles."
The owner, Bethany Gobert, was charged with three municipal misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and abandonment. She plead guilty to the charges, but says she never noticed the dog's condition because she only fed it at night.
"I did not know anything about it," Gobert said at her house. "I was coming outside long enough to drop off food and water and go back inside. That was it."
She added that she's had trouble keeping up the dog's weight.
"This is the first time anything's ever happened. Accidents happen. It was not an intentional outcome."
Paul Oratowski, with Fasthound Greyhound Adoption, doesn't believe Gobert's story.
"If she could see enough to get the food out there, where it's supposed to be for her, she had to have been able to see her."
Lori Robinson, with Haven Of Hope Rescue, is upset Chickasha police didn't file felony charges with the Grady County D.A., which could carry prison time.
"We condone this kind of behavior, then wonder why our children and elderly are abused and neglected," Robinson says. "It sends a signal to say 'that's ok. As long as it's not intentional, then you won't have to pay for it'."
Chickasha police did not have time for an interview, but said the three citations totaled a $414 fine.
Sweetheart is up for adoption. For information, we've posted a link to our website. Just log on to www.kfor.com/links.
