Roanoke's Angel of Assisi trying to help 144 dogs involved in animal cruelty case

The animals were being transported from California to Roanoke

Justin McLeod Reporter WDBJ7

4:16 p.m. EST, January 19, 2012

ROANOKE, Va—

Roanoke's Angels of Assisi is working to help the animals involved in animal cruelty case that stretches from California to Roanoke.

On Tuesday, police near Memphis, Tennessee pulled over a U-Haul truck full of 144 dogs.

Police say Bonnie Sheehan and Pamela King-McCracken kept the animals in horrible conditions, without food or water.

Authorities believe the two were transporting the dogs from California to Roanoke.

Angels of Assisi has contacted animal rescue groups in Tennessee to offer assistance.

Angels of Assisi has a van that can transport the animals. It has carts for the animals and a ventilation system.

The group has been warned there could be a lot of red tape before the animals can be sent to Roanoke.

For one, Sheehan and King-McCracken are charged with animal cruelty, therefore the dogs may not be able to adopted until the legal matter is resolved.

Angels of Assisi realizes a lot of people in the Roanoke area want to help. "We see it time and time again in the Roanoke area, if there's a rescue if there's animals that need help the outpouring of support is wonderful," said Lisa O'Neill of Angels of Assisi.

The group is asking folks to be patient.

If you adopted or fostered an animal from Sheeman and King-McCracken in Roanoke, Angels of Assisi will examine the animal to make sure it is healthy.

You can all (540) 344-8707.

wdbj7-angels-assisi-20120119

Comments (2)

Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ

Holland VanDieren at 9:48 PM January 19, 2012

In California (where I am) Bonnie Sheehan and her Hearts for Hounds did many years of fine humane work on behalf of dogs. I personally knew Bonnie to take in neglected, injured and sick animals and get them clean and healthy, then placed into homes. She saved a lot of lives.

A few years ago, my colleagues and I lost touch with Bonnie. It was known she was having financial difficulty, due in large part to the costs of care, feeding and vet bills. Many rescuers were in the same boat -- with the nation's economonic woes more pets are abandoned and fewer are adoptioned.

The devil of all this is that even though the money's gone, it's so hard to turn off caring about animals, especially when the needs become more dire. When the heart is in such pain, the brain can switch off, and terrible choices like this cross-country move are made.

I am grateful to the Memphis area animal advocates who are caring for the dogs from the ill-advised trip. I also hope that Bonnie and her cohort can be heard when their day in court comes. Their past good deeds should count for something.

Smitty-II at 9:20 PM January 19, 2012

There is more specific information regarding this "caper" on the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper's website. Apparently there were so many dogs, officials miscounted the first time around; changed from 129 to 144. According to the newspaper: The ladies told officials they were stopping and letting the dogs relieve themselves and exercise (all 144 of them?!). Apparently the cages were zip-tied shut so the ties would have had to have been cut off to let the dogs out. Officials could not locate any replacement zip-ties. Some "cages" were dog houses with screen stapled over the doors. Some "cages" had the open end shoved against the wall of the truck so the dogs couldn't get out. And there was excretement in all the cages. The dogs were 3 or 4 to a cage in a rental box truck AND a towed van w/o ventilation. AND, when officials fed them, they practically fought for the food! And, the saddest thing of all: one dog on the truck was found dead. The ladies were the center of an on-going investigation in California, mostly for having too many animals!

Even though, in THEIR minds, they were well meaning, they seem to have gotten in WAY over their heads and are similar to hoarders. What in the world were they planning to do with all these animals when they rolled into Roanoke?! Thankfully, we won't have to find out!

Advanced Search

Roanoke's Angel of Assisi trying to help 144 dogs involved in animal cruelty case

The animals were being transported from California to Roanoke

« Previous Story More News: daily news, local news and TV news for Roanoke, Lynchburg, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Danville & Martinsville Next Story »

Comments (2)

MORE NEWS VIDEO

Meteorologist Jay Webb talks about possible meteor sighting

MOST VIEWED