3 receive animal cruelty-related charges

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Fayette Regional Humane Society (FRHS) humane agents have served three people with charges relating to animal cruelty since last Thursday. All three were scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at the Washington C.H. Municipal Court.

Patty A. Hammond, 29, of Washington C.H., was served with one second-degree misdemeanor charge of “abandoning animals.” Hammond allegedly left her dog last Monday at her previous residence in Washington C.H. to stay with her boyfriend at a Bogus Road home. The investigating humane agent said that Hammond had no intentions on returning to get the dog.

Ernest R. Vorhees, 35, of Washington C.H., was served with two second-degree misdemeanor charges of “prohibitions concerning companion animals.” Humane agents visited Vorhees’s home on July 23 where they reportedly found an underweight dog with significant hair loss, sores and flaky skin. Vorhees surrendered the 9-year-old Pit Bull/Lab mix dog that was also infested with fleas to humane agents.

The dog, named Hershey, was transported to the humane society’s clinic where he tested for hookworms and weighed only 32 pounds. Hershey gained nearly 13 pounds after a week-and-a-half in FRHS care. Hershey has since been adopted into a new home. Humane agents served Vorhees with the charges late Friday night with the assistance of Washington C.H. Police Department officers, after having difficulties at making contact with him multiple times throughout the past two-an-a-half weeks.

Anndrea McCullough, 28, of Columbus, was served with five second-degree misdemeanor charges of “prohibitions concerning companion animals” on Monday. It was reported to humane agents on Aug. 1 at 11:46 a.m. that a lady’s vehicle had a flat tire and parked it at a residence during the previous night at 8 p.m. The caller reported that while mowing, two kittens were noticed barely moving inside of the car. Humane agents responded to the East Temple and Blackstone streets location and found cats and kittens inside of the vehicle. Although the vehicle had one cracked window, it had an ambient temperature reading of 93 degrees Fahrenheit inside of the car.

The driver door was unlocked by humane agents where they gained entry and reportedly found a total of three kittens and two adult cats with a litterbox and no water. The very skittish adult cats escaped out of an open door while a humane agent was trying to capture them. Humane agents canvased nearby properties to search for the cats at different times but were unsuccessful at finding them.

The 8-week-old kittens were transported to the humane society’s clinic where a veterinarian examined and reported all of the kittens slightly dehydrated, and two of them had slightly elevated temperatures. According to the veterinarian, removal of the kittens was necessary to ensure their survival, further stating that the kittens were left in a potentially dangerous situation, which required immediate intervention.

The Fayette Regional Humane Society is a non-profit (501(c)(3), volunteer organization. They receive less than 2 percent of their support from governmental organizations and therefore must rely on donations, grants and fundraising to carry out their mission. The Humane Society is the only organization in Fayette County able to respond to calls about abused, neglected and injured domestic animals, 24 hours per day, seven days per week. To learn more about the Fayette Regional Humane Society, please visit their website at www.fayettehumanesociety.com

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