A Long Island woman arrested last year on animal cruelty charges after she allegedly starved a chained dog to death -- and her children were found playing in the yard with the dead animal a week later -- is due in court this week.
Veleda Bailey, 35, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Central Islip, and animal advocates say they plan to attend the hearing to ensure she is prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law," according to Linda Klampfl, director of Almost Home Animal Rescue.
Volunteers from Almost Home were doing community outreach in Wyandanch, where Bailey lives, Nov. 19 and came across an emaciated dog running loose. The animal led them to Bailey's house, where volunteers found a dead dog chained outside along with a nearly starved-to-death dog and three puppies.
Klampfl said Bailey's children were in the yard playing with the dead dog, which had been decomposing for at least a week, and "they were barbecuing hamburgers while the animals were being removed."
"I have been doing rescue and community outreach for many years and have never seen such disregard for living creatures," Klampfl said.
The volunteers contacted the Suffolk County SPCA (SCSPCA), the Suffolk County Police Department and Town of Babylon Animal Shelter, who responded and removed the animals for emergency veterinary care.
Suffolk SPCA officials previously said Bailey told them she couldn't afford to feed the dogs. Information on Bailey's attorney wasn't immediately available.
