Dad turns in his own daughter to face animal cruelty charges

NOTTINGHAM TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two women are now facing charges after two dogs were left alone and nearly starved to death.

There has been an outpouring of support for the dogs at the Washington County Humane Society in Pennsylvania.

The father of one of the women arrested told Channel 2's Cox Media Group sister station WPXI-TV that he turned her in himself, which wasn't an easy decision, but he wants her to be held accountable for starving the dog.

He's also worried for her because she's been receiving a lot of threats.

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When William Wright saw the photo circulating on social media of a starving, skinny dog, he feared the worst: that it belonged to his daughter, Tonysha Wright.

He made the difficult decision to call the Humane Society and report Tonysha and her live-in girlfriend, Tonya Papa.

According to investigators, the pair abandoned Bella and their other dog, Coal, on Sugar Run Road in Nottingham Township last week.

Both dogs' ribs were clearly visible.

"That's what the problem (is) today. Kids have no consequence for what they do. They gotta learn," Wright said. "I don't know where my daughter went wrong with none of it. Since my daughter was born, I've always had a dog and she knows how to take care of a dog. She's thinking she going to jail immediately. I got off work. I called her. I said, 'We will go together. I'll go with you.'"

Wright told WPXI-TV that since the story exploded on social media, Tonysha is getting death threats and photos of her 3-year-old child are being shared.

People are even sharing photos of William Wright's dog, questioning if he's being taken care of.
"My dog is 100 pounds. He's not missing a meal," Wright said. "Let the judicial system happen. All the bashing, it's pretty bad."

Both women are facing felony aggravated animal cruelty charges and Wright said they both need to be held accountable.

The humane officer handling the case told WPXI-TV the first dog found is now in a foster home and is doing extremely well.

The second dog is still being treated, but is also doing well.

This article was written by Channel 2's Cox Media Group sister station WPXI-TV.

Cox Media Group