A former MTV reality television star has been arrested on a cruelty to animal charge. Madeleine Cornish, 22, is best known for her brief stint on MTV reality show Baby High in 2010. Baby High followed girls as they attended a special Louisville high school program for teen moms.
Cornish allegedly left her 6-month-old Mastiff puppy, Benson, in her Kentucky home for three weeks without food or water according to the NY Daily News . Police reports state that Cornish was moving between homes when she left the puppy to fend for himself. When she returned to the home three weeks later, the puppy was severely malnourished and emaciated. The Mastiff puppy weighed a mere 30 pounds.
After finding the puppy in such an emaciated state, Cornish dropped the pup off on the side of a Kentucky highway in order to avoid animal cruelty charges. Benson was found by neighbors wandering the road looking for food. The puppy was then taken to the Arrow Fund on July 10, who have been seeing him back to health. However staff did not expect him to survive the night when they first received him. Arrow Fund notes that the pup ranked as a ‘1’ on the body condition score chart used by vets, which is the lowest and worst number an animal can receive.
The shelter was, fortunately, able to nurse him back to health. Workers renamed the mastiff Hank and helped him pack on the needed pounds, a mastiff his age should weigh at the least 50 pounds. He was sent to live with a foster family earlier this month, and the team is now looking for a forever family to adopt the mastiff. The Arrow Fund is happy to report that Hank now weighs 52-pounds and is making great progress. According to the Arrow Fund Facebook page :
“Hank is still being seen regularly at All Pets to monitor his weight and to ensure that his body is adjusting to the increase in food intake and weight gain. He is on the right path, weighing in at 52.2lbs! He is making such great progress and we can’t wait to see him improve as the days go on. Please continue to pray for Hank!!”
Meanwhile, Cornish has a lot of explaining to do in regards to her actions taken against the pup. Kentucky police did arrest Cornish and she was formally charged with an animal cruelty misdemeanor.
Sadly, it isn’t just ex-MTV stars that have recently been charged with animal cruelty for starving a dog. An animal rescue organization in California was recently charged with animal cruelty after officers found three dead dogs and several emaciated dogs in the organizations care.
Do you think a misdemeanor charge is enough for the ex-MTV star Madeleine Cornish for starving her puppy and then abandoning him instead of seeking medical care?
[Image Credit: Arrow Fund Facebook ]