A 67-year-old Palatka woman was arrested Oct. 2 on a felony animal cruelty charge after a report that a puppy with a broken leg never received veterinary care led to deputies to seize 11 dogs from her home, including one that was severely malnourished, according to a Putnam County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.
Christine Ann Woodworth was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a third-degree felony. The affidavit says the charge involves the malnourished dog.
The arrest comes one month after Putnam County deputies removed 36 dogs from a home in a separate animal cruelty case.
Detective Jennifer Mullins wrote that the investigation began Sept. 24, when she went to Putnam County Animal Services about a report of a puppy with a broken leg. An animal control officer told her that someone reported a female dog and about three puppies were being kept in a kennel too small for them, and that Woodworth had not taken an injured puppy to a veterinarian, the affidavit states. The officer also said the home had no electricity and that Woodworth would not open the windows to allow fresh air.
A woman who knows Woodworth told Mullins on Sept. 25 that Woodworth texted her Sept. 12 about an injured puppy.
“A puppy is hurt… his leg… don’t know what happened,” Woodworth wrote, according to the affidavit.
When the woman asked what happened, Woodworth replied that the puppy’s leg looked swollen and red and that “I think he got it caught,” the affidavit states.
The woman told detectives she urged Woodworth to take the puppy to a veterinarian, and Woodworth responded that she couldn’t afford it. When she later visited Woodworth’s home on Hicks Street, she described a home where “she can smell a strong odor of ammonia emitting from the residence which would be consistent with animal feces.”
Mullins wrote that deputies served a search warrant Oct. 2 and seized 11 dogs and puppies. One puppy, a red male, had a body condition score of 1, with its ribs, spine and hip bones visible from a distance and no apparent body fat, the affidavit states. Mullins wrote that she saw piles of feces on the floor and bowls with little to no water.
Woodworth was booked into the Putnam County Jail and was released Oct. 7 after posting $2,500 bond, according to jail records.
