Joey the dog beaten, left in a Charlotte dumpster — a phone call saved him
Freshly clipped nails pattered along wood floors, floating a goofy, contagious pit bull smile through a south Charlotte home Monday morning.
Joey, 2, wagged his tail, picked up his new cow toy and burrowed into his new bed — a plush gray sofa.
Three weeks ago, Joey was in a dumpster — beaten, bound, blinded and left for dead.
Joey, whose story recently captured the attention of Charlotte animal lovers and authorities, was found Feb. 5 in the dumpster behind Cheshire Chase Apartments, in the Cheshire Commons area close to Prosperity Church Road and W.T. Harris Boulevard neighborhoods.
He was the sixth dog Chrissy Elder, founder of Forgotten, Now Family Rescue, found in a local dumpster this month. He was one of more than 100 animal abuse cases Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Animal Care and Control has seen in the last year.
Joey’s fresh wounds, layered on top of semi-healed fractures, suggested he was repeatedly abused before this final incident nearly killed him, Elder said.
“This is by far the most violent attack on an animal I’ve ever seen,” she said. “For his entire life it was repetitive and forceful abuse, enough to break bones over and over.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers, PETA and Elder’s organization issued rewards — totaling $11,000 — for information leading to the identification of Joey’s abuser. His injuries are the worst Elder has seen among the 3,000 dogs she’s helped rescue in the last two years.
Elder founded Forgotten, Now Family Rescue with her best friend Emily Chandley in 2021. The self-proclaimed “crazy dog ladies” quickly became local shelters’ first call for animals who need extra care or foster homes.
They don’t see a dime that comes in to the organization, but if it means doing some good and helping some animals, they don’t mind, Elder said.
Animal abuse in Charlotte
Staff at CMPD Animal Care and Control have seen cases like Joey’s before, said Melissa D. Knicely, the division’s communications officer.
In 2022, the division launched more than 100 animal abuse investigations. It also took in more than 8,500 animals and had a live release rate of 85% — a shift from 2020’s intake of less than 7,000 animals.
A brief reprieve came with the pandemic when Charlotte earned a “no-kill” animal community title. In 2020, the shelter drove more than 900 animal adoptions and reached a 90% “save rate,” according to its website.
Capacity issues have worsened in the last two years, Elder said, as people re-prioritized work and returned to the office, leaving pets without a home.
As of Monday afternoon, the shelter had less than 10 dog kennels left, according to its website. And most recently, Knicely said, an ongoing remodel to bring the 30-year-old building up to code put cats in the kitchen.
Dog abuse on social media
While the division has seen an uptick in abuse investigations in the last five to 10 years, Knicely wasn’t sure it was necessarily because more animals were being abused. Cell phones and social media now allow passersby to easily photograph or record abuse when they see it.
When a good samaritan found Joey tossed beneath rotting food and broken boxes, they immediately took photos and called their friend, Elder, who then called Animal Care and Control. The division was able to immediately launch an investigation, interviewing neighbors as soon as they could. Still, they kept hitting dead ends, Knicely said.
For cases like Joey’s, social media can help authorities call on the public for any information that could help solve cases when other leads have been exhausted. Hundreds now know about Joey’s abuse because of posts from PETA, Crime Stoppers and Forgotten, Now Family,
Crime Stoppers only gets involved when the division can’t find the suspect through its own investigation, Knicely said.
But, sometimes, people can beeline for the post button too quickly, she said. Premature social media surveying can stifle investigations when photos or videos get out too early and send abusers into hiding.
“We can’t do anything if we don’t know about it first,” she said. “It’s frustrating as the investigating agency that we could do more if we knew about it from the get go, versus finding out second or third hand on social media or through a media inquiry.”
What to do when you see animal abuse
People should call 911 or 311 when they see abuse or find an animal in danger, Knicely said. While the Humane Society takes animals from the division weekly, it does not respond to abuse reports. The Animal Care and Control Center is best equipped to not only take the animals in, but also connect them with nearby rescues that can provide treatment and a more comfortable home.
Knicely said she hopes more people will come into the shelter — once renovations are done and the cats are out of the kitchen — to adopt or foster dogs like Joey.
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 6:30 AM.
