A woman renting a Barrington apartment allegedly locked her dog inside a small room for more than a day without food or water and with interior temperatures exceeding 90 degrees.
According to
Barrington police, an officer was on routine patrol in the Bay Spring area of town on Tuesday morning, Aug. 4, when a woman flagged him down.
The woman was the landlord for a Narragansett Avenue building and said she believed a dog had been locked inside one of her building's apartments for more than a day.
The officer accompanied the landlord into the apartment and found the interior in shambles — items were strewn across the floor and dirty dishes filled the sink. (The landlord reportedly told the officer she had been trying to evict the tenant for about a month.)
The officer could also hear a dog barking incessantly from another room in the apartment; it appeared the door had been blocked shut with items. The landlord forced open the door, revealing a medium size black poodle. Police said the dog was scared and ran into a far corner of the room. Officials also said dog feces was all over the floor and there was no food or water for the trapped animal. Police said that while temperatures outside hovered around 80, the interior temperature was much warmer.
According to police, the dog appeared to have been abandoned by its owner, a 23-year-old local woman. The officer contacted
East Providence Animal Control, who took custody of the dog and transported it to the shelter.
Meanwhile, Barrington's animal control officer contacted the dog's owner who said she had last been to the apartment to feed the dog on Aug. 3. (Neighbors said the dog had been barking for days inside the apartment.)
The dog's owner reportedly brought the poodle to the Riverside Animal Hospital where it was examined and administered some vaccinations. Police said the dog was then released to its owner.