Lockport, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Town of Lockport woman accused of starving her dog appeared in Lockport Town Court on Thursday. The matter is moving to a grand jury.
Ashley Pritchard is accused of starving her dog, Eve, who later died on Christmas. Amy Lewis of the Niagara SPCA says she was there when the dog arrived at the shelter.
"This was a very, very young dog, just about a year old, and she was near death when she came to us, she was hypothermic. She didn't have an ounce of body fat on her," said Lewis in an interview with WBEN.
According to Lewis, Eve ate when the SPCA fed herm and says Pritchard subjected Eve to a completely senseless act of neglect and cruelty.
Lewis feels there needs to be a signal to the public that this is not OK behavior.
"It's my understanding that people offered help for this dog, and they were denied. There's no reason why Eve is not alive and with us today, She had every opportunity to do something different, and she didn't. She chose not to. She could have called the SPCA, she could have taken up any offer for the dog, to change hands, change ownership, to get the dog to a vet. And none of those things happened," Lewis said.
The next court date for Pritchard is Feb. 20.