Bertie County Woman Convicted of Cruelty After PETA Finds Chained Dog With Embedded Collar
For Immediate Release:
May 28, 2026
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
Yesterday, Bertie County resident Ameena Outlaw was convicted of cruelty to animals in Bertie District Court. Outlaw was charged after PETA fieldworkers’ February discovery of a dog, later named Liora, chained outdoors on her property during freezing weather, with a collar so deeply embedded in her neck that it had to be surgically removed and had caused a severely infected wound. Outlaw was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation, during which time she is not allowed to own animals and must pay $1,664.73 in restitution to PETA.
PETA was checking on dogs kept chained and/or penned in the area in preparation for a severe winter storm when it visited Outlaw’s property to provide Liora with insulating straw and replace frozen water in a bucket with fresh water. They alerted authorities to Liora’s emergent condition and—with sheriff’s deputies’ assistance—Outlaw relinquished custody to PETA’s fieldworkers, who rushed her to an emergency veterinary clinic. After surgery to remove the embedded collar and time to heal from the infection, Liora was adopted by a loving family in New York who had previously adopted another PETA-rescued dog.
“Although Liora was rescued, countless other dogs are chained, neglected, and suffering right now in Bertie County,” says PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “Liora’s case is just one example on the long, long list of reasons PETA continues to call on Bertie County officials to ban 24/7 chaining of dogs and implement basic standards of care.”
Every year, PETA’s fieldworkers visit thousands of neglected dogs—forgotten, ignored, often found without shade, drinkable water, or any other way to cool down (or stay warm and dry in winter). Dogs relegated to the outdoors are often deprived of veterinary care, exercise, companionship, or even a kind word and are kept confined to the same few square feet of space day in and day out. That’s why PETA urges everyone to keep dogs indoors and works with government officials to require adequate food, water, and veterinary care to prevent suffering.
On Thursday, June 4, PETA will bring rescued dogs to the Halifax Mall in Raleigh to advocate for Duke’s Rescue Act (HB 657), which would prohibit chaining dogs in extreme weather and create minimum standards of care for companion animals in North Carolina. The public and the media are encouraged to attend.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
