OPPENHEIM – State police at Fonda said another person has been charged with cruelty to animals after an investigation into the mistreatment and deaths of dogs.
Troopers said Friday that Matthew Van Allen, 31, was charged with cruelty to animals and issued a ticket to appear in Town Court.
Troopers said the investigation began after officers responded to a domestic dispute call at 6 p.m. Jan. 6. on Stowell Road.
Katrina A. Feasel, 31, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, second-degree menacing and second-degree harassment after officers responded to the call.
Troopers allege Feasel held a kitchen knife during an argument with her grandmother and told her “if she did not shut up, she was going to knife her to death.”
Authorities said while troopers investigated the dispute, they learned Feasel and her boyfriend, VanAllen, kept three dogs in kennels in the backyard. Troopers checked the kennel area and found two of the three dogs were dead. The dead dogs appeared to have been malnourished, troopers said.
A necropsy was performed on the two dead dogs. The procedure indicated one of the dogs died as a result of an intestinal parasite known as whipworm, troopers said, and a contributing factor of death for both dogs was inadequate shelter.
The third dog was alive and was taken by the town dog warden to a veterinary clinic for treatment.
