- Oklahoma, USA -
The Ponca City Police Department arrested 36-years-old CHELSEA LANE LONG (pictured), on three felony counts of cruelty to animals.
Ponca City Police Chief Don Bohon kindly emailed me the narrative of this case according to which on August 17, 2022, officers were called to a residence on 912 North Union Street regarding a report of abandoned dogs.
Upon arrival, officers found two dogs, who were sadly deceased, and one dog who was still alive “but in very poor condition.” The deceased dogs were decayed and mummified.
Officers did not find any food or water and “it was alleged that nobody had been seen at the residence for about 6 weeks.”
Animal Control was called in and the responding officer took possession of the surviving dog, an adult male Boxer mix.
According to police, at the home there were no active utilities but officers found mail addressed to LONG and a vehicle registered in her name.
The following day, Ponca City Police located LONG at a residence in the 400 block of North 7th Street and questioned her about the dogs. LONG told officers that she did have a Boxer and a black Yorkie, but her father was looking after them. LONG told police she did not know anything about a third dog.
Officers advised LONG that the Yorkie and another dog were found deceased and the Boxer was in such poor health and risking being euthanized.
After talking to LONG, police interviewed her father, Bennie Long, whose version of the facts were different from his daughter’s. He said that he only mows the yard at her daughter’s home and that the dogs were her responsibility. The father then explained that when he was at the home two weeks earlier, he saw a white dog but did not see the other two.
After police completed their investigation, a warrant request was submitted to the Kay County District Attorney for a charge of felony animal cruelty, on CHELSEA LANE LONG.
The DA’s office issued a warrant on December 2, 2022. At her first court appearance in Kay County District Court, LONG appeared with a bondsman, surrendered to the court, and was released after posting a $12,000 bond.
Online court records show that LONG is due back in court on February 3, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.
No charges have been filed against LONG’s father.
Chief Bohon tells me that the Boxer removed by Animal Control is still with the agency and is doing well.
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