Over 20 dogs found dead and dying in field in Nebraska

45 year-old Denise Withee of Mapleton, Iowa will face charges for animal abuse and abandonment after being accused of breeding dogs and then dumping them on the side of the road in Nebraska. Denise Withee has plead 'not guilty' to three counts of cruel neglect of animals.

With each count, Withee faces up to 5 years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The charges stem from an August 1st incident, where 23 dogs were found dead or dying in a Grand Island cornfield.

Authorities linked the dogs to Withee through a microchip found in one of the animals.


Withee is facing additional charges in Iowa for 20 dogs that were found running at large and 27 more dogs that were found in two separate homes in Monona County, Iowa, said Sgt. Roger Krohn of the Monona County Sheriff's Department.


On July 31, 23 dogs were found dead or dying in the cornfield and 13 more were taken from Withee when she was arrested at a local motel Aug. 2. The hotel room had been paid for by Roland Bowling, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Department. Bowling is charged with being an accessory to a felony and providing false information to law enforcement. Bowling is associated with Denise Withee.

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for January 28.

For more information on this case, please visit pet-abuse.com 

Tell Lawmakers to Ensure That Animal Cruelty Is Treated as a Serious Crime

The Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act of 2007 would require the FBI to add animal cruelty as a separate category in its crime data reporting system. Contact your senators and ask for their co-sponsorship and support of this bill!

The link between animal cruelty and other forms of societal violence is a national concern. The practice of dogfighting perfectly illustrates this connection, as it is almost always linked to illegal drug and weapons violations, gambling, aggravated assault and gang violence.

Laws that enable law enforcement agencies to address animal cruelty increasingly improve the lives of animals. However, reported incidents of animal cruelty are still not getting the attention they deserve because there is no national system designed to track these crimes. Instead, when local and state police agencies report animal cruelty incidents to the FBI, they are labeled “other offenses.” This in turn makes it nearly impossible to access and respond to even the most basic information about animal cruelty crimes and their perpetrators.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) wants to change this. Today, Sen. Menendez introduced the Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act of 2007, which would require the FBI to add animal cruelty as a separate category in its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Doing so will help law enforcement agencies track animal cruelty crimes, which will help stop the cycle of violence and allow researchers to study animal cruelty’s connection to other forms of societal violence. This critical bill ensures that animal cruelty is finally treated as a serious crime.

The American Humane Association supports this legislation. Tell your senators to co-sponsor and support the Tracking Animal Cruelty Crimes Act of 2007!