On 09/12/19, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Missouri Humane Society Animal Cruelty Task Force about a possible case of animal abuse/neglect within our county. The Task Force stated they were contacted by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office in Texas where Steven C. Woodington, 55, of South Padre Island, TX, and another unidentified male were arrested for animal cruelty.
Steven and his wife Tiffany L. Woodington, 49, of Cole Camp have been operating a not-for-profit animal rescue called “All Accounted For” in Benton County. Steven Woodington was housing 278 dogs in unfit and severely inhumane conditions in Texas and transporting animals to the Cole Camp location. Authorities estimated that over half of the animals would not survive due to health conditions where euthanasia would be required. The survivors were rescued and treated by a veterinarian to insure the animals would be healthy enough for adoption.
Law enforcement, sided by Animal Task Force Officers, arrived at the address of concern where contact was made with Tiffany Woodington.
Tiffany was cooperative and led authorities to an old school bus, a barn and a house where 38 dogs and one cat were discovered alive but in unimaginable condition. It was discovered that approximately 120 dogs and one cat had perished.
The animals were in various stages of decay, some were just bones.
The Missouri Humane Society Task Force removed the living animals for treatment and returned the following day to collect the remains of the deceased animals for further forensic examination. The Prosecuting attorney charged Tiffany Woodington with 10 Class “E” Felonies and 2 Class “A” misdemeanors resulting in a $100,000 cash or surety bond.
It saddens me that law enforcement is limited with charging offenders because of a lack of good Statute. We can only charge on Statutes 578.009 Animal Neglect and Statute 578.012 Animal Abuse. No matter how egregious the crime is, suspects can only be charged with a Class "E" Felony and prosecution has to prove the "willful" or "intentional" element to even get that! I fully intent to reach out to lawmakers and pursue better law to give our furry friends better justice in Missouri!
My eternal gratitude goes out to the hard working men and women of the Missouri Humane Society who spend countless grueling hours protecting and defending animals. We call upon this amazing group way more than I'd like to see here in our county.
*** Please direct your inquiries to the Missouri Humane Society at (314) 647-4400. They are swamped and short handed so please try to be patient while searching for your furry family.***
