The Woman Accused of Tossing Patrick the Pit Bull Down a Garbage Chute Pleads Guilty

Kisha Curtis still denies the act but admits to animal cruelty charges nonetheless.

Authorities believe that in 2011, a New Jersey woman wrapped her one-year-old Pit Bull in a plastic bag and threw him down a garbage chute into the trash compactor. He was alive. By the time rescuers found him, he was near death. In fact, it was astonishing that he was still breathing. The dog was a skeleton, his emaciated, corpse-like body shriveled and lifeless. The dog had moved just enough for a maintenance worker to notice the bag moving and save him.  

After that, Patrick, so named because he was rescued around St. Patrick's Day, pulled off one of the greatest recoveries we've ever seen, going from this: 

To this: 

We've written about the story a lot over the years: here, here, here, and here. Now, Patrick is finally getting some justice. The woman who was accused of throwing her dog down the chute, Kisha Curtis, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to fourth-degree animal cruelty, according to Essex County Prosecutor's Office. 

According to CBS News, Curtis was accused of tying the Pit Bull to the railing in her former Newark apartment building, then leaving the state for more than a week in 2011. Prosecutors said she was responsible for the dog's "torment and torture," by abandoning and starving the dog.  

Curtis has denied putting the dog in the trash chute, and she was set to go to trial on Wednesday. Instead, on Tuesday, she plead guilty to animal cruelty for tying up the dog and leaving him without food or water. She also gave up ownership of the dog. 

According to News 12 New Jersey, the surprise guilty plea was not part of the plea deal, and the prosecutors handling the case say they will seek the maximum penalty of 18 months in jail, though authorities say that she might not serve any time because she has no prior convictions. 

"Miss Curtis obviously committed an act, and now she's paying the consequences for it," Assistant Essex County Prosecutor David Feldman told News 12 New Jersey. 

State Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini III is scheduled to sentence Curtis on Aug. 29 and also rule on the custody of Patrick. The dog is in a custody dispute with Associated Humane Societies and Garden State Veterinary Specialists, the groups who nursed Patrick back to health, along with the City of Newark, according to NJ.com. 

Currently, Patrick lives with Patricia Smillie-Scavelli, hospital administrator at Garden State Veterinary Specialists. 

Patrick's story has received intense public interest throughout the years, and we encourage you to follow the Patrick Miracle Facebook page for daily updates. We'll return to the story once the sentencing his handed down and Patrick's custody is determined. 

Via NJ.com, CBS News, and News 12 New Jersey; photos via the Patrick Miracle Facebook page unless otherwise noted

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Police: SC Woman Puts Small Dog in Garbage — Twice

Oreo could probably use a good bath after what s/he has been through. (Photo is a loved "model" and not Oreo; from the Flickr photostream of angela n.)

Earlier this week, a sanitation worker found a Shih Tzu in the garbage can of a South Carolina woman while collecting trash. The worker took the dog to the house, where Nancy Smythe, 58, said the dog was hers.

Fortunately the trash collector didn’t laugh it off as a cute little mishap, but instead called in animal control officers. When they got there, guess where the little Shih was? Yup. They fished the dog out of the garbage once again, brought the dog to Greenville Co. Animal Control, and made sure Smythe didn’t have a third try; she was arrested and charged with “ill treatment of animals.”

The dog, who is black and white, has been named Oreo at the shelter, and will soon be up for adoption.

What is it with some people?! What was Smythe thinking? So glad the garbage worker was observant. The automated trucks used by so many trash collection companies can preclude any inspection of garbage. We tip our Dogster hat to the trash collector, who did just the right thing at the right time.

Source: Associated Press

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Starved Dog Rescued After Thrown Down Garbage Chute

Patrick shortly after a maintenance worker found him in a garbage bag ready for the trash compactor. Yes, he is alive.

Patrick the pit bull led a wretchedly tormented life. By the time his owner put him in a garbage bag and threw him down a garbage chute in his New Jersey apartment building, most other dogs would have been long dead. But Patrick lived on in this hell, in a dark garbage heap destined for a giant trash compactor.

Then just before the end, Patrick’s luck changed. From inside his sarcophagus, he probably heard the voice of the maintenance worker who was coming to put the garbage into the compactor. He moved slightly, using what little strength he had left in his emaciated, corpse-like body. It was just enough to catch the eye of the maintenance worker, who opened the bag and saw a dog who looked dead, but was not.

Workers called in the City of Newark Animal Control, and the dog was immediately transported to the Associated Humane Societies Newark Animal Care Center (AHS) for emergency help. His temperature was so low it didn’t register. Rescuers there put him on IV fluids, warmed him with blankets and heating pads. Vet tech Gina DeSalvo held him in her arms, soothing him, giving him nibbles of food. “From that moment on, he looked up with gratitude in his eyes to all of the staff,” reports an article on Care2Petition.

Patrick — named by rescuers because he was found on March 16, a day before St. Patrick’s Day — was then transported to a 24-hour emergency veterinary care center. There, he got a blood transfusion, a bath, and even a walk.

Today I spoke with Debbie Beyfus, of the AHS, a local organization which is helping put together funding for Patrick. She said he is doing very well, given his near-death condition just days ago. He is eating many small meals a day, and enjoying all the love and attention he is getting. And the boy is very well house-trained. “Believe it or not, he won’t go to the bathroom anywhere but outside,” she said. “So he goes on little short walks outside with someone to do his business.” (One can only imagine the housetraining techniques his owner used on him…)

Patrick, after a few days of TLC

The AHS has set up a fund for a reward leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s). So far it has $2,000. In addition, there’s a fund to help defray the costs of Patrick’s care, which is going to be expensive and go on for a long time. You can donate to both on the AHS site, and earmark your contribution to go directly to Patrick or the reward fund. Unfortunately there have been problems with the AHS’s ResQ-fund donation pages,  so Beyfus says the AHS is welcoming phone calls for donations as well. The number is (973) 824-7080. You can ask for her or anyone else who can take a donation by phone. If you prefer to send a check, you can find the address here. Feel like signing a petition to bring this to the attention of local law enforcement and politicians? Go to Patrick’s Care2Petition page.

The AHS is posting periodic updates on Patrick. Be sure to check in on how he’s coming along.

The AHS has posted a video on YouTube. You can see this beautiful boy as he’s recovering. Get your Kleenex ready, if you haven’t already gone through a box or two.

A big thank-you to Zelda Austin, who called Patrick’s story to my attention yesterday.

Sources: Care2Petition, American Humane Societies,  NBC New York.

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Woman Charged in the Case of Starved Garbage Chute Dog

Patrick (Photo: AHS)

A 28-year-old Newark, NJ, woman has been charged with four counts of animal cruelty in the case of Patrick, the 1-year-old pit bull who was found starved nearly to death in a garbage chute in a 22-story apartment building. We wrote about him last week, of his emaciated corpse-like body being just minutes away from a trash compactor until a keen-eyed maintenance worker spotted some movement in the garbage bag that was to be his sarchophagus.

“His eyelids were moving a little. But he was just lifeless — his body hung there when we picked him up,” an animal control officer told The Star-Ledger.

This is what he looked like shortly after he was rescued by animal care workers.

Patrick, shortly after he was pulled from the trash (AHS photo)

I show you this terrible photo again as a reminder of his unbelievably horrendous condition when he was found. And now I’m going to see what you think of the punishment Kisha Curtis faces if convicted of the two civil and two criminal counts she has been charged with. Here goes:

She would get up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine and community service if convicted, according to Fox News.

Up to six months in jail? Or a $1,000 fine and community service? For this? I’d love your thoughts, Dogsters. Dozens of you have written comments calling for many different kinds of justice — some rather illegal. But even staying within the parameters of the law, is this what you had hoped for? What kind of message does this kind of sentence send?

Fortunately Patrick is making slow but steady progress. You can find updates on his condition at this Associated Humane Societies page.

Police are still on the lookout for other people who may have contributed to Patrick’s condition. I’ll try to keep you posted on this, and on Patrick’s progress.

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