A supposed "no-kill" animal shelter in Georgia is now closed after police investigation in 2012, its former director indicted for allegedly charging owners fees and promising to find their pets new homes before killing the animals, NBC News reports.
Lowanda "Peanut" Kilby, the ex-director of the Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter in northeast Georgia, was released on $100,000 bond Wednesday night. She is currently being charged with 60 felony counts, but because euthanizing animals is not a crime in Georgia, she is not being charged with animal cruelty, but instead for theft and deception, as well as violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act for the mishandling of donations, among other felonies.
Kilby and Penny Burkitt, the shelter's former executive director, ran the Lucky Dog-Lucky Kitty program at the now-closed Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter, which was later taken over by the nonprofit Rabun Paws 4 Life Animal Shelter under a $60,000 contract with the county. Both Kilby and Burkitt resigned from their positions in 2012 after WAGA-TV exposed them for not only killing pets promised a new life, but stealing donations and transferring them to Kilby's personal bank account.
The indictment accuses of the now-closed, supposedly "no kill" animal shelter program, run by Kilby, of euthanizing more than two dozen animals after charging pet owners $100 or more and promising to find them new adoptive homes and provide all shots and medical care. The indictment even provides a heart-wrenching list of all of the names of the pets that the shelter promised they would not put down.
"We do feel awful for all the dogs that were euthanized when people were told the dogs were adopted, and especially for people who received emails after the dogs had been euthanized saying that their dogs had been adopted," Assistant District Attorney Maggie Hastings told the Huffington Post.
"It's a black eye on the community. We want to make sure we show that the case has been investigated and that someone will be held accountable," Rabun County District Attorney, Brian Rickman, said to WAGA.
Chris Simmons, director of Paws 4 Life, posted a statement about the euthanized dogs on the new shelter's Facebook page.
"While it is not my place to act as judge and jury, I will say that no matter what happens, nothing will replace those dogs that were put to sleep," he wrote. "My heart aches for all of those people who donated money to help those dogs find a forever home. Those dogs saw the worst side of human behavior. They had no voice, and were silenced forever."
Click here to see photos of Lowanda "Peanut" Kilby and Penny Burkitt, former directors of Lucky Dog-Lucky Kitty who ran a shady, deceptive shelter program.
