Tuscaloosa Woman Charged With Felony Animal Cruelty After Police Find Neglected Dogs

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A Tuscaloosa woman has been charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after police allege that she willfully neglected two dogs, resulting in the death of a blue Great Dane.

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According to a copy of the deposition obtained by Patch, 20-year-old Kati Haggerty was charged after a City of Tuscaloosa animal control officer was contacted on March 6 by property managers regarding two dogs in a residence in the 700 block of Tamaha Trace.

The responding officer said the two dogs were found to be "extremely underweight, locked in crates with no food or water, and feces/urine in and around the crates."

The deposition states that Haggerty was not on scene and animal control decided to return the following morning. Upon arrival, animal control found that one of the dogs had died and had dry food in its cage.

The dogs were taken by animal control and the Tuscaloosa Police Department was contacted to assume the investigation.

As it turns out, investigators found that the incident in March was the second time animal control had been called regarding the dog that survived.

Haggerty told police that the deceased Great Dane had refused to eat regular dog food since she got her in January. What's more, police allege that Haggerty did not provide veterinary care to the Great Dane, and also provided messages where she told the previous owner she could not afford to feed the dog a special diet or bring it to the veterinarian.

The deposition then said after 10 days of care at the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter, the long-haired shepherd-mix dog that survived gained 10 pounds and had no health issues found to have contributed to his low body weight at the time he was rescued by police.

Haggerty was charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals — a Class C felony.

She was released from the Tuscaloosa County Jail after her total bond was set at $10,000.

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