SOLEBURY: SPCA seeks help in animal inquiry

$500 reward for information leading to prosecution of person or persons responsible for abandonment of 18 chickens and a snake on Fleecydale Road in Solebury Township

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   SOLEBURY — The SPCA in Lahaska is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the abandonment of 18 chickens and a snake on Fleecydale Road in Solebury Township last week.
   ”The trail is getting colder now, so I really hope somebody will come forward,” Humane Officer Kathy Myron said.
   There was also a Pets Plus cardboard box nearby that was marked with the words “black bunny.” No bunny was found. If one was there, it could have scampered away or ended up as snake food, Ms. Myron said.
   ”If there was a rabbit, we don’t know what happened to it,” Ms. Myron said.
   At one time the box contained mice, as evidenced by the droppings found inside.
   The chickens were in good shape and have since been taken in by “good-hearted neighbors,” Ms. Myron said. “We were lucky here. Not all animals abandoned on the side of the road have happy endings.”
   Nine of the chickens were adopted by Solebury veterinarian Brian G’Sullivan and his wife, Elisa.
   ”They’re all healthy,” Ms. G’Sullivan said. “They’re all doing great.”
   The snake, however, was dead, but still soft, when a woman walking her dog along Fleecydale Road found the abandoned animals in the brush.
   To round up the chickens as darkness descended, neighbors combed through the brush with hockey sticks, herding the birds.
   ”We had one flashlight between us,” Ms. G’Sullivan said. When it got darker, they worked by the light of their vehicles’ headlights.
   The chickens were likely hatchlings at Easter, according to Ms. Myron.
   The young snake’s body was “clean, no trauma,” she said. “It looked perfect.”
   Authorities are uncertain if the colorful young snake was a boa or a python, Ms. Myron said. She theorized it could have been a “designer snake,” one that was bred to produce more colorful markings. Its skin was yellow, white, orange and also showed some black markings.
   ”Snake breeders manipulate colors now,” she said. “Sometimes it’s difficult to tell a species.”
   The snake remains in Brian G’Sullivan’s freezer as evidence, where he works at the Pleasant Valley Animal Hospital. The remains also are awaiting accurate identification by an exotic animal veterinarian, Ms. Myron said.
   ”We just want animals safe, and want people to know they can take their animals here,” Ms. Myron said of the Lahaska SPCA, on Street Road.
   ”Any animal that is adoptable, we work very hard to find someone who will adopt them.” The SPCA also will take in animals at no charge, rather than see them abandoned.
   Anyone with information is urged to call Ms. Myron at 215-794-7425, ext. 105.