{"id":1041590,"date":"2022-09-21T14:35:05","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T21:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/?post_type=news_release&p=1041590"},"modified":"2024-04-02T03:04:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T10:04:33","slug":"unique-state-law-helps-peta-win-freedom-for-chained-neglected-dogs-photos","status":"publish","type":"news_release","link":"https:\/\/www.peta.org\/media\/news-releases\/unique-state-law-helps-peta-win-freedom-for-chained-neglected-dogs-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique State Law Helps PETA Win Freedom for Chained, Neglected Dogs (Photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A unique civil lawsuit, through a rarely used North Carolina statute, helped PETA win its seven-month battle to free five neglected dogs<\/strong> from being chained up 24\/7, surrounded by filth and suffering without basic care\u2014a victory that has helped these dogs\u2019 lives completely transform.<\/p>\n

When they could, PETA\u2019s fieldworkers visited the chained dogs in rural North Carolina for more than a year, repeatedly trying to persuade the property owner, Cherelle Turner Askew, to provide for their basic needs. The group provided the dogs with food, custom-built doghouses, spay\/neuter services, and more\u2014all free of charge. <\/em>But when the fieldworkers would return, they would find the dogs malnourished and neglected, and on one visit, they discovered the skeletal remains of a young black pit bull named Minnie\u2014a dog they knew well\u2014still chained inside her doghouse. A necropsy revealed that she had died of \u201cstarvation and extreme neglect.\u201d<\/p>\n

After months of pleading by PETA, the local sheriff\u2019s office charged Askew with seven counts of cruelty to animals, seized four surviving dogs\u2014Zeus, Duke, Sandy, and Duchess<\/strong>\u2014from her property, and delivered them to the local dog pound. Knowing that they were in urgent need of veterinary care, suffering from heartworm disease and other conditions, but would have stayed at the pound\u2014which has no veterinarian\u2014for months or even years until the case\u2019s conclusion, PETA went to court using a unique state statute that allows any<\/em> person to file a civil action for custody of abused animals<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This month, PETA was granted permanent custody<\/strong> of the four dogs as well as a fifth dog named Billie<\/strong>, who was acquired after Minnie starved to death and was kept tethered in the same spot\u2014together, the \u201cBertie 5.\u201d In PETA\u2019s headquarters and in caring foster homes, they\u2019ve been receiving treatment for bronchitis, heartworm disease, parasites, and other ailments\u2014and enjoying long-overdue affection at last, playing with other dogs, relaxing indoors, snuggling in cozy beds, and just being dogs. Askew\u2019s criminal case is scheduled for October 5\u2014but whatever the outcome, the Bertie 5 will never be chained up and neglected again<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Photos<\/strong> and more details about these dogs and their astonishing transformations since their rescue can be found here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A unique civil lawsuit, through a rarely used North Carolina statute, helped PETA win its seven-month battle to free five neglected dogs from being chained up 24\/7, surrounded by filth and suffering without basic care\u2014a victory that has helped these dogs\u2019 lives completely transform. When they could, PETA\u2019s fieldworkers visited the chained dogs in rural … Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":178,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"","beyondwords_integration_method":"","beyondwords_project_id":"","beyondwords_content_id":"","beyondwords_preview_token":"","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_code":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[33],"placement":[],"class_list":["post-1041590","news_release","type-news_release","status-publish","hentry","category-animal-companions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnique 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