Morrisdale Man Waives Right in Animal Cruelty Investigation

A Morrisdale man facing animal cruelty charges because he did not seek medical assistance for a dog with quills in his face waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court.

An Animal Control Officer investigating a call about the animal was at the residence of Darrell Robert Kent, 60, on Aug. 8 when she saw the dog, Luna, who was “in bad shape.”

“Luna was under weight, her face was severely swollen and she was unable to open her eye. The animal had blood in her fur and smelled of diesel fuel,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.

The dog was seized and taken to a veterinarian where over 75 quills were reportedly removed from her face, one of which was two inches into one of her eyes.

Luna needed to be sedated during this procedure because of the extreme pain she was suffering, according to the criminal complaint. It was also hard to place a tube for sedation down the dog’s throat because of swelling and Luna had trouble opening her mouth.

In addition to the quills, the dog was underweight, had yeast infections with both eyes swollen shut, according to police.

When the officer spoke with Kent, he said he knew the dog was suffering and reportedly admitted to not calling a vet saying he thought his family did.

He allegedly explained that he soaked rags in diesel fuel and wrapped them around the dog’s face to “remove the infection”.

The animal control officer noted in the affidavit that Kent “did knowingly torture

a pitbull type animal, causing severe and prolong pain” by “allowing porcupine quills to remain in her face and body for 27 days causing pain, infection and surgical removal.”

He also failed to get necessary veterinary care for her ears and infected face it says in the affidavit.

Kent is charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals-causing serious bodily injury or death, and misdemeanor counts of neglect of animals and cruelty to animals. He is free on $5,000, unsecured bail.