Providence woman charged with killing neighbor’s ferret, poisoning own dog
By Jordan Mazza
Email: jmazza@abc6.com
Twitter: @JordanMazzaTV
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) – A Providence woman was arraigned Friday on multiple charges of fatal animal abuse.
Providence Police arrested Melissa Snead, 34, after she allegedly killed a neighbor’s ferret and fatally poisoned her own dog in late February.
Police initially responded to Snead’s apartment for a well being check where they discovered Rhody the Chihuahua and Bear the ferret suffering and unable to stand.
According to Police, the dog was lying in the bathroom, covered in bruises and bleeding from the mouth, while the ferret was unable to stand and was dragging its back legs behind it.
Snead first told Police that someone had entered her apartment and hurt the animals, but later said that she took the ferret from a neighbor “as payback” and accused the neighbor of stealing from her apartment.
Police said the dog showed signs of long-term abuse and was suffering from internal bleeding from a corrosive substance. Snead later told police she may have left rat poison out to be eaten by the dog.
Eventually, the dog went into cardiac arrest and died. Police said that the ferret, apparently suffering from a broken back, also died.
Snead was arraigned Friday morning in Providence District Court on the following charges:
“I don’t see any reason to treat animals that way and be able to get away with it,” said David Ross of Lincoln.
“I was pretty shocked to hear about it,” said Vanessa Teixeira of Providence. “And I believe that we need better law.”
Lawmakers past and present say they have been working on it.
Animal rights activist and former state representative Robert Nardolillo took action after seeing judges return animals to their abusers.
“We became very, very frustrated seeing that,” Nardolillo said. “And the law that I passed made it so that the discretion was actually taken away from the judge. There would have to be a mandatory forfeiture of the animal rather than the immediate return of the animal.”
And legislators are currently considered an animal abuse registry to prevent abusers from obtaining an animal again.
“I would like to see this registry go into effect,” said Representative Patricia Serpa, (D) District 27. “And of course I want to see this woman feel the full extent of the law, the fine and the imprisonment. We have to start by administering the severest penalties to drive the point home.”
Snead was released on $5000 personal recognizance, and a judge ordered pretrial services to monitor her mental health.
She is due back in court on March 22nd for a bail hearing.
©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2019
