Amid rise in abuse, a bad day for animals

Left behind after its owner moved out, the poodle mix was so severely infested with fleas that maggots had developed in wounds caused by its incessant scratching, according to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The dog was only one of four found at an apartment on 28th Street near Berks Tuesday, a day when the PSPCA found seven animals in abusive situations. Three were dead. One of the dead was a puppy.

The animal-welfare agency said that the cases were part of a dramatic rise in acts of animal cruelty in Philadelphia and across the state this year. The severity of abuse also has spiraled, the PSPCA said.

Among the dead dogs was a pit bull found along with the poodle mix and two schnauzer-mix puppies at the 28th Street apartment, PSPCA officials said.

Their owner no longer occupied the apartment but had left clothing, other items and the four dogs behind, said George Bengal, PSPCA director of investigations. The four animals were without food or water, despite that the owner kept returning to the apartment, Bengal said. The owner will be charged with abandonment and other violations, he said.

Cases of abandonment have been reported across the country, where people who are in foreclosure or can't pay the rent have moved and left animals behind.

PSPCA chief investigative veterinarian Rachel Lee said that the poodle mix received a blood transfusion and had a good chance of survival. The puppies were a little thin but otherwise okay, Lee said.

As bad as the 28th Street case was, it was not the most horrific on Tuesday, said PSPCA spokeswoman Heather Redfern. The worst involved the torture and killing - allegedly by a 12-year-old boy - of his neighbor's cat in the Lower Northeast, she said.

"The cat was thrown off of a roof and beaten with a rock," Bengal said.

The major increase in animal cruelty that the PSPCA has seen this year may be due in part to a new cruelty reporting hot line opened on Jan. 30, Redfern said. But the number of calls received since - more than 4,700 - almost quadrupled original expectations, she said.

The number for the abuse hotline is 866-601-SPCA.

Severe cruelty also is rising.

"For instance, dogs that should weigh at least 50 pounds are coming in with protruding hipbones and ribs. They are nothing but skin and bones," Bengal said. The PSPCA is seeking donations to its Etana Fund to Stop Cruelty Against Animals. Contact Rachel McCrystal at 215-426-6304, extension 217. *