Guilty: Bertie County Man Convicted in Penned Dog’s Starvation Death
For Immediate Release:
March 14, 2025
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
On Wednesday, Demetris Burke Jr. was found guilty on a cruelty-to-animals charge stemming from the death of a female pit bull mix, Honey Bun, in February 2023. Burke has been banned from owning animals for five years and is under supervised probation for six months. He was ordered to pay a $270 fine and was sentenced to 75 days in jail, suspended.
On February 6, 2023, PETA fieldworkers found Honey Bun emaciated and curled up in a filthy, dilapidated pen where she was whining, laboring to breathe, and so weak that she was unable to stand or walk. A neighbor reported that she had not seen Honey Bun’s owner for at least one month. PETA’s fieldworkers obtained permission to take custody of Honey Bun and rushed her to an animal hospital, where a veterinarian determined that due to the severity of her condition, euthanasia was the most humane option. A necropsy revealed that Honey Bun was starved and suffered from heartworm disease and other parasites. Another dog on the property—who was severely underweight and kept on a chain—was seized the next day with the help of Windsor Police Department.
Video footage of Honey Bun is available here. (Warning: graphic images)
“While the court’s decision sends an important message about the consequences of leaving an animal to die, it can’t bring Honey Bun back or undo the prolonged pain and suffering she endured,” says PETA Senior Vice President of Cruelty Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch. “Her sad existence is not an uncommon one for dogs in North Carolina, so many of whom spend 24/7 outside, trapped at the end of a heavy chain or inside a makeshift pen, suffering from deprivation, neglect, isolation.”
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 implement standards of care to require adequate food, water, and veterinary care to prevent suffering. PETA has been lobbying Bertie County elected officials to strengthen the county ordinance and pass a ban on keeping dogs tethered outdoors, such as the Towns of Windsor and Aulander—among many other North Carolina localities—have already passed.
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.
