Kansas City police search for suspects in animal cruelty cases
By Angie Ricono and Cyndi Fahrlander
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KANSAS CITY, Kansas (KCTV) — KCK police are investigating two cases of animal cruelty so outrageous, they’ve taken to social media to find their abusers.
The pictures of the dogs are tough to look at. Police say these are not cases of neglect, but “outright cruelty.” The abuse the animals suffered is not just heartbreaking, it’s a crime.
The first was found at 2000 N. 13th St in Kansas City, KS. Animal control officers named him Wyatt, which means “Brave in War.” A second was found a few weeks later, near 2900 N. 64 Terrace. Officers named her Laila, for boxer Laila Ali, because she’s such a fighter.
You can see in the photos released by KCKPD that Wyatt is wearing two collars. He also had a rope around his neck. Animal control officers believe that he was constantly trying to escape his abuser. The second collar was much tighter, indicating it was added after extreme weight loss.
“He had wounds from chewing on himself to break free or boredom or basically starvation,” said Ashley Scott, director of Animal Control. “He was almost mutilating himself.”
Laila was also emaciated. The veterinarian that examined her noted that her legs were constricted, almost malformed.
“We did notice she had some type of curvature to her back and her legs were not formed properly,” said Scott. “They’re bent in a weird way. She also had pressure sores on our bones which tells us that she may have been crated for a long period of time.”
Laila was so weak that she could only stand for two minutes at a time.
Both were in such terrible shape that they were immediately fostered out so they would have close supervision while healing.
How the dogs are doing now
Laila is being fostered in Manhattan, KS. She appears to be improving. She’s gained three pounds already and is playing with other dogs in her foster family’s yard.
Wyatt is being fostered in Blue Springs, MO, with Michelle Gentry. She is confident Wyatt will return to health, but the recovery for both dogs is expected to take about six months.
“The end of his tail is raw, so when he wags it, if it’s hit, it bleeds,” said Gentry.
Gentry feeds Wyatt numerous small meals a day nursing him to health. And when our team visited, he was also given treats to help calm him. He’s come a long way in just a few weeks.
“He gets everything he wants,” said Gentry.
She struggles to understand how a pet could be treated this way.
“To do this to an animal that just loves you is horrific,” said Gentry. “I mean, unimaginable.”
KCK police posted about the dogs and warn that if people will do this to their pet, you have to wonder what else they’re capable of.
“If someone can hurt an animal, what else can they do?” asks Scott. “What are they doing to their children in the home? What are they doing to their spouse? What are they doing to the rest of the community?”
They believe someone in the community will recognize these animals. They were likely found near where they lived as they could not move far in their conditions.
Anyone with information can report it anonymously by calling 913-321-1445 or by visiting KCKPDAnimalServicesComplaints@kckpd.org
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