Aug 20, 2012: Woman who stole money, mistreated 158 dogs at Sanctuary Animal Refuge gets 10 years' prison
A woman charged with mistreating 158 dogs at the Sanctuary Animal Refuge west of Fort Pierce was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison, primarily for stealing the money that was supposed to go toward the animals' care.
Palena Rae Dorsey, 60, was charged with 158 counts of animal cruelty in April 2011 after St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies discovered deplorable conditions at the shelter Dorsey ran at 9550 Carlton Road. Conditions included her malnourished dogs infected with heartworm and suffering from open and unhealed sores, mange, dehydration, diarrhea and fleas crowded into pens, lying in feces and urine.
During Monday's hearing, Deputy Rick Stuhr of the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office started showing Circuit Judge Gary Sweet a number of photos of dogs taken from the shelter and conditions there. After numerous photos, Sweet said, "That's enough."
Dorsey also was charged with first-degree grand theft after authorities determined she used money from a $500,000 trust for the animals' care from the estate of Laura Linscott, founder of Dogs and Cats Forever, to buy a home in Fort Pierce, cars, a motor home, electronics and appliances.
Sweet sentenced Dorsey to 10 years in prison for the grand theft and five years for the cruelty charges, which had been reduced to 16 counts, one for each of the dogs from the shelter that had to be euthanized.
Sweet allowed Dorsey to serve the two terms concurrently, but he also ordered her to serve 20 years of probation after her release from prison. During that time, Dorsey is to repay $305,54.71, the amount authorities were able to prove she stole.
Sweet also ordered that Dorsey can own no more than three animals..." More
Oct 2, 2011: Animal shelter operator accused of hoarding
by: Darlene Dorsey
SAN ANTONIO--- Former employees and volunteers say Cheryl Wildenstein, who runs Animal Friends Humane Society, is cruel to animals. The former workers joined the owner of the shelter property in court to ask a judge to grant an eviction notice to Wildenstein.
The former employees say Wildenstein keeps dogs locked in cages too many hours each day. In court documents, they also claim the shelter operator didn't keep necessary medical records or get routine vaccinations for cats and dogs--which has led to many illnesses. The workers says this makes it hard to find adoptive homes for the animals.
The former employees believe Wildenstein is a hoarder. They says she keeps too many animals on the property, has made many excuses for not granting adoptions, and has kept dead cats in a freezer. According to court documents, the shelter manager didn't allow pets with identification to be returned to their owners unless those owners were persistent or asked police for help.
One former worker, Lissa Tuttle, says she and others have used their time to bury animals and their own money to buy medicine. Alice Lang, who adopted a dog from Animal Friends, says she started volunteering after her adoption. She says she then discovered horrible conditions for animals. She told us the shelter operator wouldn't allow people to check the back of the property, where many dogs remained locked in cages, and said only few animals were kept up front for visitors to see. Lang says she left after six months of work.
Some neighbors have signed a petition. They want Wildenstein to go because they believe she is abusing animals and because foul odors from animal urine and feces fill the air. A former worker told us sometimes the shelter operator would leave feces on the floor for hours as she worked around it..." More & video
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