A Glen Cove man was charged with failing to provide proper sustenance to his three-year-old female Pitbull who weighed just 36 pounds when she was surrendered by the defendant in March.
Gadal Letellier, 27, was arraigned on April 25 before Judge Charles McQuair on one count of Agriculture and Markets Law (“AML”) § 353, Failure to Provide Proper Sustenance (a Class A misdemeanor). He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on May 14.
On March 26, at approximately 12:00 p.m., at a home on Mariners Way in Glen Cove, NCDA Detective Investigators and a detective with the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals conducted a wellness check on a seemingly emaciated tan Pitbull that had previously been observed in the front yard of the home.
Letellier spoke to the detectives and brought out two dogs, a small male gray and tan Pocket Pitbull named “Ruger,” and a tan female Pitbull named “Yagami,” which appeared to be the tan emaciated animal that the detectives had seen in the front yard.
Letellier, who as the legal owner of the Pitbull, agreed to surrender the animal. He allegedly told detectives that he did not have any dog food and was unable to financially support the animal.
The Pitbull, later named “Scrappy” by Cove Animal Rescue, was evaluated at Brookville Animal Hospital on the same day she was surrendered. The animal weighed just 36 pounds and had a lack of fat stores and loss of muscle mass. The veterinarian evaluating Scrappy found that her body composition on a scale of 1 to 9 was an extremely low 1.5, indicating that the animal was emaciated, undernourished and mildly dehydrated. The doctor further opined that in his experience, the animal’s condition was consistent with a lack of food or sustenance.
Letellier surrendered at the Glen Cove Police Department on April 11. The arrest was made by the Glen Cove Police Department in conjunction with NCDA Detective Investigators and the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“This defendant allegedly allowed his three-year-old Pitbull to starve and deteriorate until she was severely emaciated at just 36 pounds,” said Nssau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “Thankfully, ‘Scrappy,’ as she is now known, was surrendered and placed with a local animal rescue where she is receiving proper medical attention and can begin to recover and gain weight. Pet ownership is a serious responsibility. If an individual willfully ignores and denies an animal’s basic needs and causes them to suffer, they can and will be prosecuted.”