Investigators in St. Albans, West Virginia, said they found several dogs living in a home covered in feces, with no food or water bowls anywhere on the property. One dog was reportedly kept in a cage with no access to food or water at all. Another had severe mange left untreated, and other animals showed physical abnormalities officers believed were tied to inbreeding. A dead rat was found on the front porch, and the smell inside was reportedly so overwhelming that officers could barely stay in the house.

Richard Lee Booker and Sandra May Humphrey now face animal cruelty charges. But this isn't Humphrey's first time. She was convicted of the same crime in Charleston back in 2018, and yet these dogs still ended up suffering in her care years later.

That gap is the problem. A conviction on paper did nothing to stop it from happening again.

We're calling on the Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney to pursue the maximum penalties available in this case, and on West Virginia lawmakers to close the loophole that lets convicted animal abusers go on to own or care for animals again with little to no follow-up. Dogs left in cages without water, dogs bred without any regard for their health, this is what happens when a prior conviction carries no lasting consequence.

Animals can't report their own abuse. The people responsible for enforcing the law are the only line of defense they have.

Sign the petition to demand tougher accountability for repeat animal abusers in West Virginia, before another animal pays the price for a system that let this happen twice.