A Sumter County jury has found a woman guilty of animal cruelty after her starving pit bulls became so desperately hungry that they ate paper.
Jurors found 35-year-old Amy Michelle Parrish, of Bushnell, guilty on Tuesday of three counts of animal cruelty. She has been sentenced to 180 days in jail.
Parrish was initially arrested back in April of this year after a Sumter County Animal Control officer responded to her home for a follow-up welfare check on three animals. Officials had previously responded to the home in September 2023 after a report of three malnourished dogs. After warning Parrish about the animals’ questionable conditions, she stated she would be providing additional care and nutrition to the dogs. When animal control conducted a secondary check in October, all three dogs were reported to be improving in health.
However, during a follow-up check on the animals, an animal control officer observed the three dogs to be in worse condition than when the initial check was conducted back in September. The office called the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office for assistance. Officials seized all three animals in question, which were all Pitbulls: 7-year-old Clyde, 9-year-old Cookie, and 11-year-old Bash.
The animals were so desperate for food, that they were observed eating paper that was lying around on the ground. It was apparent that both Clyde and Cookie were not being provided enough food to eat, as both animals were thin and had their ribs protruding out. Bash was observed to be much thinner than the other two, and extremely underweight with his ribs and individual backbones bulging out. Additionally, Bash had wounds near his tailbone from an unknown source.
Due to these observations, with the animals ranking lower on the body scale than the initial visit, Parrish was placed under arrest and transported to the Sumter County Detention Center.
Bash the 11-year-old Pitbull had to be humanely euthanized due to his critical condition. Cookie has since been adopted to a loving home, and officials at Sumter County Animal Services are still looking for Clyde’s forever home. If you would like to adopt Clyde, please visit their website at https://www.sumtercountyfl.gov/1270/Adopt-Today or call (352) 689-4400.
