Animal cruelty charge filed in case of caged pit bull-boxer mix found in trash
Prosecutors have charged a Wichita woman with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals connected to a case where a caged and starving dog was discovered next to a trash dumpster earlier this month.
The pit bull-boxer mix was alive but “extremely emaciated” when it found locked in a kennel in the trash in the 2200 block of South Oliver, Wichita police have previously said. Police started investigating the case on Jan. 9 after receiving a call from the Wichita Animal Action League, a local animal rescue organization.
Authorities arrested 26-year-old Raykesha R. Hardyway four days later after receiving Crime Stoppers tips about the case and conducting interviews with witnesses, police have said.
Hardyway made a first appearance in court Tuesday morning before Judge Rodger Woods, according to a Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office email. She pleaded not guilty to the cruelty charge, court records show.
The complaint filed in the case accuses her of “unlawfully and knowingly” abandoning “a pit bull named Kodak ... without making provisions for its proper care.” The dog was left on or about Jan. 8, the document alleges.
Court records did not list a defense attorney for Hardyway on Tuesday morning. She told the judge Tuesday that she plans to hire one, said Dan Dillon, spokesman for the district attorney’s office.
Hardyway’s next court appearance, a criminal bench trial, is scheduled for Feb. 13.
The Wichita Animal Action League has said in online posts that the dog, which is now named “Bowie,” is thought to be about two years old and weighs about half of what it should. The organization has said it is caring for the dog and expects he will be ready for adoption in the spring or early summer.
This story was originally published January 28, 2020 at 1:09 PM.
