The Pennsylvania State Police announced Thursday animal cruelty and neglect charges against a woman who claimed she found an abandoned dog and its litter of dead puppies.
Corporal Michael Spada, Animal Cruelty Officer, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, with the assistance of Hayden Carroll, Humane Society Police Officer, Animal Rescue League of Berks County, investigated after the dog reportedly was found along a roadway in Berks County.
The dog, through the work of Zoe’s House Rescue, was taken to an emergency veterinary facility in Lancaster for treatment of unknown injuries. The dog was brought to the facility by the person who found the dog.
Related: Berks rescue seeks ‘Justice for Sadie’ after puppies left for dead in grocery bag
It was learned that the dog, named Sadie after being brought to the veterinarian, had recently birthed puppies. The person who reported finding Sadie claimed she later found the puppies in the same general area, in a bag and deceased. Sadie was humanely euthanized a few days later to end her suffering.
The investigation revealed that Bryanna Wagner, age 23, of Leesport, the person identified as finding Sadie, had the dog under her care and did not find Sadie along a roadway. The puppies were stillborn a few days earlier and kept in a bag in Wagner’s garage. Wagner admitted to calling Bern Township Police Department and telling them she had found the dog in Mohrsville.
On May 25, Cpl. Spada filed a criminal complaint in Magisterial District Court 23-3-05. Wagner is charged with Aggravated Cruelty to Animal, a felony of the third degree; Neglect of Animal, a misdemeanor of the third degree; False Reports to Law Enforcement Authorities, a misdemeanor of the third degree; and Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence, a misdemeanor of the second degree.
Wagner was arraigned on the listed charges and subsequently jailed in lieu of $75,000 bail.
