17 Dogs, Chickens Removed From Woonsocket Home
RISPCA
On Thursday, March 29th at 9:00PM, the Rhode Island chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was contacted by Woonsocket Police and Animal Control to assist with an animal cruelty case at 36 Cottage Street.
At the scene, RISPCA discovered 17 dogs living in deplorable conditions. There were 9 adult pit bull dogs and 8 three-week-old puppies living in what was presumed to be weeks or months buildup of feces and urine. In addition to the dogs, there were also 4 adult chickens and about a dozen adolescent chickens as well as a bathtub full of chicken carcasses and one dead piglet.
“No one should have been living there.” said Joe Warzycha, Director of Operations at the RISPCA “This was the worst I’ve seen in quite a while. We haven’t been able to fully assess the condition of animals but additional charges will be levied if needed.”
40 year old Korina Ferreira of Fall River was arrested and charged with 17 counts of animal cruelty. She surrendered the fowl to authorities but was not willing to sign the dogs over.
The animals are being held at local animal shelters until which time they are signed over to authorities or a court rules her unable to own these animals. Ferriera is a repeat offender by her own admission having served several months in prison in Massachusetts in 2013 on animal cruelty charges.
Police were made aware of the situation inside the home after a neighbor took this video of one of the dogs, who broke through a window screen and was walking around on the roof of the home.