MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two people are in jail on animal cruelty charges after allegedly abandoning a 6-month-old puppy in a cage in South Memphis with no food or water, Memphis Police said Thursday.
20-year-old Angel Nabors and 29-year-old Barry Randle face aggravated animal cruelty charges after Memphis Animal Services reported them as suspects in the case of the starving puppy.
Both are being held in the Shelby County Jail and are awaiting a bond hearing.
According to a police affidavit, officers responded to a call at the 700 block of Saint Paul Avenue on Saturday, July 30, and found the extremely starved companion puppy in a black wire cage without food or water.
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The dog was immediately taken to a vet, who treated it for muscle wasting, skull atrophy and said the puppy had seemingly no fat.
Three days later, Memphis Animal Services sent MPD documentation which developed Nabors and Randle as suspects, and the two were brought in for questioning on August 5.
When asked why they hadn't fed the puppy, Nabors said she was working too much and didn't have any time to do it, and Randle said he couldn't afford to feed it.
Memphis Animal Services said the puppy was in poor serious condition, and would have died within four to five days had officers not responded.
