Cruelty to Animals Led to Woman’s Arrest in Columbia County
A dog in distress left alone in a hot vehicle April 14 led to a Columbia County woman’s arrest over the weekend.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to the Walmart parking lot on Bobby Jones Expressway Sunday evening after a dog was spotted in a cage in a locked Chevy Trailblazer with the windows up and engine not running. The dog was breathing heavily and appeared to be having convulsions, so officials say a deputy broke a window to unlock the vehicle and retrieve the dog, according to the incident report.
Authorities say the vehicle was registered to 25-year-old Ivey Dawn Redman, who told authorities she is homeless. When she was called, she told deputies she would be there in 15 minutes.
Cruelty to Animals Report
According to the deputy filing the report, the dog and the cage in the rear compartment of the SUV were covered in feces, urine and other bodily fluids.
“Among other odors, I detected the strong odor of decomposition. After removing the dog from the vehicle, I discovered 3 cats in a separate cage behind the dog’s cage. 2 of the cats were deceased and in full rigor mortis. The 3rd cat was barely moving and covered in urine and feces,” according to the report.
“I can explain,” Redman told deputies. She told authorities the animals belonged to her, but she was recently evicted from her apartment and was living out of her vehicle with the animals. She said she had left them in the car while she went to see a friend about finding a place to stay.
Redman was taken into custody and charged with 2 counts of Cruelty to Animals and 2 counts of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals.
