Gary Montgomery Charged with Animal Neglect; Stray Rescue Instrumental in Developing Case

The office of City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce recently trained Stray Rescue of St. Louis personnel  in the intricacies of legally documenting the appalling cases of animal abuse that Stray Rescue staff encounter on a daily basis. The goal of this late-March meeting was to expedite the process of getting animal abusers in court. Five warrants were issued Friday, March 30, in cases developed by Stray Rescue, and yesterday the Circuit Attorney filed one charge of Animal Neglect or Abandonment against Gary Montgomery, a Class C misdemeanor.

Jason Schipkowski, Stray Rescue's director of marketing, heralds this charge as "a great example of how our partnership in the city is having an immediate impact.

"Our partnership has been successful already, and this is only the beginning."

Stray Rescue workers discovered the dog at Montgomery's home confined in an approximately two-foot-by-four-foot closet with a feces-caked floor. There was no evidence of food or water in the closet on that day, and the dog was wearing a thick nylon collar that appeared to obstruct its breathing.

"The dog from the case, Donna Karen, is doing OK," Schipkowski said earlier today. "She's being monitored for an intestinal issue. Our in-house veterinary staff suspects she had ingested metal or rocks, and we're watching her carefully. She's also terrified of small spaces due to the constraining area she was kept in."

Schipkowski went on to praise their legal partners for their dedication to the project. "It's been a long time coming, and we're so happy everyone at the Circuit Attorney's office is so compassionate and committed! It's really going to make a difference."