Chain of Hope KC animal rescue leader faces dog poisoning charge

The leader of an animal rescue agency has been accused in Kansas City Municipal Court with feeding a man’s dog food that caused the animal to have an allergic reaction.

Kate Quigley, 55, who is the director of the Chain of Hope KC rescue agency, was charged for allegedly poisoning an animal.

Willie Crutchfield said the group in November trespassed on his property at 26th Street and Askew Avenue and gave food to Lucy, his 7-year-old Labrador retriever mix, without his permission. Crutchfield said Lucy has severe food allergies and was sick for several days.

“I could understand if my dog was malnourished or was beaten or chained to a pole or a tree or something, just obvious neglect,” Crutchfield said. “She didn’t need that and they had no right to do that.”

Quigley appeared in city court on Wednesday and was granted a continuance. She will next appear in court on March 28.

Phone calls to the agency’s office in Raytown and Kansas City were not returned.

Crutchfield said the group fed Lucy food over his fence. The food gave Lucy diarrhea. At some point, Lucy pulled the hair off her back and tail because of the allergic reaction she was having.

“It was real bad,” Crutchfield said.

Chain of Hope volunteers canvass the city and provide food, bedding and other aid for stray and neglected animals.

Quigley has been cited on two previous occasions for violating the city animal ordinance.

Crutchfield said the group had no right to feed his dog without his permission.

“They had no way of knowing my dog would have a reaction to things like that. It wasn’t fatal but my dog was sick, and she wouldn’t eat for a couple of days and was scared,” he said. “She shouldn’t have gone through that.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2018 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Chain of Hope KC animal rescue leader faces dog poisoning charge."