By Maria R. Hayes
Former Wyoming County SPCA shelter manager Susan Davila and former Wyoming County SPCA board president Janet Foisset appeared in court on Thursday, May 24.
Davila was arraigned for 10 counts of animal cruelty and 10 counts of failure to provide sustenance to an impounded animal, which are both misdemeanors. Both women were arraigned for tampering with physical evidence, a felony. If convicted, they could be sentenced to 1 1/3 to four years in jail.
Both Davila and Foisset have pled not guilty. A hearing has been set for July 12.
“From my perspective, these are two women who have desperately tried to prevent cats from being killed in shelters,” said Thomas Eoannou, the women’s lawyer. “Did people drop off too many cats? Yes. Was the shelter too small? Yes. Did that in anyway make the people trying to help the cats criminal? No. Not at all.”
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By Maria R. Hayes
The New York State Police filed charges against former Wyoming County SPCA shelter manager Susan Davila and former SPCA board president Janet Foisett on May 9, according to Wyoming County District Attorney Donald O’Geen.
Davila is charged with 20 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty under the Agriculture and Markets law, according to a press release from the New York State police. The charges relate to overcrowded and unsanitary conditions and failure to provide adequate veterinary care.
Davila and Foisset are also charged with one count each of tampering with physical evidence, a felony. In June 2011, the SPCA Serving Erie County initiated an investigation in Lawtons, N.Y., at the home of Claire Young, a friend of Foisset, where an estimated 140 to 200 cats were being kept. When the Erie County SPCA returned to follow up, all of the cats were gone. The cats were brought to the Wyoming County SPCA’s building, where they were kept in the basement until around January 2012.
Foisset and Davila are scheduled to appear in the Attica Town Court on May 24.
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