Obituaries
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2012:
“I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.”--William Shakespeare
Susan Davila, 58, former manager of the Wyoming County SPCA in Attica, New York, was found dead at her home in Attica on July 8, 2012. “We believe it was an overdose of her prescription medications, but the investigation is ongoing. We do not see any foul play at this time,” Wyoming County District Attorney Donald O’Geen told Bennet J. Loudon of the Attica Democrat & Chronicle. Davila was charged with 20 counts of cruelty after 518 cats were removed from the Wyoming County SPCA shelter in February 2012 by the Erie County SPCA and New York state police. “Former board president Janet Foissett is charged with tampering with evidence,” added Loudon. Between 40 and 50 cats were euthanized due to severe health issues, Erie County SPCA spokesperson Gina Browning told Carolyn Thompson of Associated Press. Nearly two dozen organizations helped to find homes for the remaining cats, Browning said.
A January 2011 newspaper notice seeking volunteers mentioned that the Wyoming County SPCA “has about 500 animals in its care and only a handful of people to help,” Thompson reported.
Valerie Marie Roberts, 57, of Las Vegas, was killed on May 31, 2012 when she stopped to help an injured dog on Boulder Highway. Media reports indicate that Roberts tried to block oncoming traffic with her vehicle, with flashers on, but was in a different lane from her vehicle when hit.
