Animal Cruelty Under Investigation in Laurens, New York

These are the kinds of stories that hurt to report on as an animal lover.

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In a Facebook post, the Susquehanna SPCA described a grim scene they were called out to yesterday: "This morning, our team responded to a request from the Otsego County Sheriff’s Office to assist with an animal case. What Deputies found was sick and disturbing. They uncovered five dogs found deceased in garbage bags and four who appeared to have been left behind to languish. The four alive are safe in our care and received medical examinations this afternoon. The five deceased have been brought to Cornell University for forensic examinations."

Susquehanna SPCA Executive Director Stacie Haynes told us "Just like everyone else, we are shocked at the fact that five dogs died. We are patiently waiting to hear how they died from the Cornell forensic examiners. Law enforcement will be making sure that the offender is being held responsible in the hopes that this will never happen again."

Residents of Laurens are equally upset. One member of the community, who asked to remain anonymous said "The whole Town of Laurens is very angry about this. This has gone on for a very long time. I did not know that it was as bad as it is, but the local town government is well aware of the situation."

Laurens town supervisor Dean Buccheri and town land use officer Barbara Monroe have not returned requests for comment at the time of publication.

This is not the first time Laurens has experienced an animal cruelty case. Almost a year ago to the day, resident Ashley Williams was arrested and charged with three counts of torturing or injuring animals and failure to provide proper sustenance under New York’s Agriculture and Markets Law. The arrest took place on February 6, 2023. This was in response to an investigation after horses were found roaming streets and creating a danger on December 11, 2022. The investigation revealed that Williams was not properly feeding or watering her animals.

It is unknown if the two cases are connected.