Posted Monday, March 12, 2007 at 10:52 am
Freddie Lee Gray Jr., 42, formerly of Wedgefield Court, was released on $1,500 bail after pleading not guilty at Justice of the Peace Court 11 to three counts of misdemeanor cruel neglect for dog abandonment and related offenses, said Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Executive Director John E. Caldwell.
As part of
his release, the court ordered
Gray to relinquish his remaining
dog to the SPCA.
He faces an arraignment on the
charges April 16 in the Court of
Common Pleas.
If convicted of the animal
cruelty offense, Gray could face
up to a $5,000 fine and/or five
years in jail.
After he moved out of his home
near the U.S. 13/40 split late
last month, a worker changing
the locks Feb. 27 discovered the
emaciated 6-month-old brindle
pit bull puppy locked in a cage
in a second floor bedroom.
A veterinary technician who
examined the dog said the canine
may have been left there for
weeks.
“Based on the dog’s condition,
it had to be there for awhile,”
Caldwell said.
The SPCA was alerted and the dog
was given crisis medical
treatment of antibiotics,
fluids, liquid nutrition, mite
treatment, necrotic flesh
removal and pain medication.
Despite those efforts, the dog’s
health eventually became worse.
Because of the severity of the
its health problems, the puppy
was euthanized March 2, Caldwell
said.
Warrants were issued March 2 for
Gray’s arrest.