Dog Overdoses On Cocaine In Batavia, Owner Arrested And Charged
A Batavia woman has been arrested after police found out her dog had overdosed on cocaine a few times. The woman was charged with two counts of injuring an animal. The dog allegedly overdosed twice, 10 days apart, on May 15, 2022, and May 25, 2022. Cassandra L. Elmore took her French bulldog to a veterinarian to be treated after each of the overdoses. The dog was also taken to a vet on June 21, 2022, to be treated for overdosing on cocaine. She is also accused of not getting a license for the dog with the City of Batavia. She was given a ticket and is due back in court on July 26, 2022, at 1 pm.
New York State defines aggravated animal abuse as,
Aggravated cruelty to animals. 1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
To be clear, Elmore was not charged with aggravated animal abuse. Those who are may not be able to own or care for an animal for a certain period of time.
Animal abuser registry laws require people convicted of animal abuse to annually register with authorities for a period of years. Anyone who must register but fails to do so is subject to penalties. Albany, Nassau, and Rockland counties and New York City also prohibit certain entities (e.g., pet shops or pet shelters) from transferring animals to registered offenders.
Not every county has an animal abuser list, but Niagara County does. You can see the registered animal abusers below.