Suffolk Woman Abandoned Cats For 2 Weeks: SPCA

MASTIC, NY — A Mastic woman has been charged with animal abandonment after leaving her 13 cats without care for two weeks, the Suffolk County Society of Prevention to Cruelty to Animals said.

SPCA Chief Roy Gross said 59-year-old Donna Spall was charged with 13 counts of animal abandonment on Aug. 3 after an investigation by SPCA officers.

Spall was charged with cruelty to animals twice in 2017, first in March of that year after she was found with 45 cats, and then again in June, when she was found with six cats, Gross said.

“So, that was just a few months later, and she did it again,” he said, adding, “Now, she did it again.”

But Gross noted that this time, Spall was only cited for animal abandonment, not cruelty because there was no issue with cats’ condition. He said he did not know where she was for the two weeks that she left the cats unattended.

“If it was a little bit longer, who knows what could have happened,” Gross said.

It was not immediately clear what the disposition of Spall’s case was in 2017. Spall’s name has not been included on the county’s online Animal Abuse Registry, which is where the most serious offenders are listed.

A police spokesman said that she did not have any convictions that met the criteria to be placed on the list. District Attorney Timothy’s Sini’s office did not immediately respond to a request for information about the disposition of Spall’s last case.

Spall is scheduled to appear in First District Court in Central Islip on Aug. 20. It was not clear if she has an attorney.

Gross thanked the Brookhaven Town Animal Shelter and Adoption Center’s staff for their assistance in taking the animals in. The shelter is expected to conduct a health assessment and will likely place the animals up for adoption, he said.

Gross said that the state’s animal protection laws need to be changed so that people like Spall are prevented from having access to animals.

He said animal cruelty will not be tolerated in Suffolk, and he advised any witnesses to incidents of cruelty or neglect to contact the SPCA at 631-382-7722.