CLEARFIED – A Clearfield woman charged for neglecting a dog which died, waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court.
Samantha Lynn Wolfe, 34, is charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals-causing death, along with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, neglect of animals-sustenance, neglect of animals-vet care and two summaries.
Her case now moves on to the county court. She is free on $25,000, unsecured bail.
The criminal complaint details how police received a call from a Lawrence Township resident reporting animal neglect and abuse. She said someone had just picked up a dog from Wolfe’s residence that was “so emaciated that it was suffering and dying.”
Police then contacted Heather Hoover of Animals Matter of Clearfield County for help. Custody of the animal was signed over to the group and two members of the organization took the dog to Metzger Animal Hospital in State College for treatment.
The dog, Roxy, was reportedly diagnosed with emaciation, canine parvovirus infection and hypoglycemia. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, she went into cardiopulmonary arrest and despite the efforts of the staff, passed away.
Doctors said the dog weighed only 10.64 pounds even though it was 10 months old. An owner of a dog from the same litter said her dog weighed 75 pounds.
In an interview with police, Wolfe said the dog was only sick from eating stuffing which had onions in it. Later she said the dog was sick for a month and admitted she probably should have done something sooner.
She admitted in the eight months she had the dog, she never registered her, or got her vaccinated, and she commonly provided the dog with leftover human food rather than dog food, according to the affidavit.
“The physical appearance of this dog was such that any person could rationalize the need for immediate veterinary care. The outline of the dog’s rib cage was visible through its skin and the dog could not stand, walk or eat,” it says in the report.
