Putnam SPCA Announces Arrests In 2 Animal Abandonment Cases

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — The Putnam County SPCA has arrested a Dutchess County man who is accused of kidnapping a neighbor's cat and abandoning it in the woods in Southeast and a Peekskill woman accused of abandoning her cat at a veterinary hospital in Southeast

Daniel Anastasia, 62, of Birchwood Park Mobile Homes in Wappinger, is accused of trapping one of his neighbors’ cats on his property and leaving it in a wooded section of Reservoir Road.

Despite searching daily, its owners have still not been able to locate their cat, SPCA officials said.

Anastasia allegedly made statements that he does not want animals on his property and did not care if he trapped owned or unowned animals. He admitted to abandoning other cats in locations within the towns of Fishkill and Southeast, SPCA officials said.

Anastasia was charged with Animal Cruelty (Class A Misdemeanor) and Animal Abandonment (Unclassified Misdemeanor) under the New York State Agriculture and Markets law. He will be arraigned at Town of Southeast Court on Nov. 2.

Alaina Sessions, 38, is charged with one count of the Agriculture and Markets law “Abandonment of certain animals” — law specifically about abandoning a pet at a veterinarian, groomer, or boarding facility.

SPCA officials accused her of abandoning her pet cat named “Cheesecake” at Guardian
Veterinary Specialists 24 Hour Emergency Hospital in Southeast. The cat had been brought in for possibly ingesting rat poison.

Officials said in one phone conversation, the hospital attempted to offer discounted services if the bill could not be met as well as offered to surrender the animal.

Officials alleged Sessions hung up on the hospital and numerous other attempts to contact her were made in the following weeks. A certified letter was sent to her address, which was received by the accused, but no contact was made to the hospital.

She will be arraigned within the Town of Southeast Court Nov. 4.