Veterinarian Says
Dead Dog Was Starved and Beaten
BY NICHOLE DOBO
STAFF WRITER
02/23/2007
WILKES-BARRE — A dog found
dead in the basement of a Horton Street home Tuesday
starved to death and almost certainly was beaten,
the veterinarian who performed a necropsy on the
animal said.
It was dead “at least a few days” before police
arrived at the home after getting a tip that animals
there were not being properly cared for, Dr. Inayat
Kathio said of the 2-year-old pit bull terrier.
“It has sunken-in eyes set all the way back like you
see people in Ethiopia,” Dr. Kathio said. “Her ribs
and backbone were sticking out. She was a skeleton.”
The dog weighed only 26 pounds, Dr. Kathio said,
half as much as it should have.
Police would not identify the residents of 247
Horton St., where the dog was found, but said the
residents own the property.
The names listed on the deed for the property are
Lorraine and Mark Stellma, according to Luzerne
County property records. Neither could be reached
for comment Wednesday.
Contact the writer: ndobo@citizensvoice.com