On December 22nd, the article about Toby, an autistic child's Pit Bull was published. The story as it had been reported to the police was that Toby had been stolen and then days later dumped in the front yard of his guardian's home, apparently beaten with something resembling bat.
The entire story has now been called into question, and it appears that possibly parts of it were not true.
Toby's guardian, Kelley Nolan was arrested along with an accomplice on charges of receiving stolen goods and obtaining property under false pretenses. Drugs were also found with her accomplice at the time of the arrest.
Since the original reports were published, a necropsy has been performed, and the injuries Toby received were not compatible with a beating, but rather from being hit by a car. However, there were children at the bus stop who did state they saw Toby being lured into a car the day he disappeared. The sheriff's department is still investigating this. (Source.)
The police have stated they won't be releasing any additional information until the investigation into all of this has been completed. Pet Helpers continues to offer the $1000 reward for information in connection with what happened to Toby.
Berkeley County Councilman Tim Callanan has stated that he has not as of yet picked up donations given for the child from the mail slot that had been set up for that purpose, but any donations that were given will be refunded.
We will probably never know the entire truth about this story. The one good thing that came from it all is that the autistic child received a new IPad donated by a local retailer, and she got what seems to be good attention after the stories ran about all of it. That's something she clearly needs, since her life has now taken another negative turn with the arrest of her mother.
The timing of this entire incident brings a lot into question. I had reached out to Kelley Nolan at the time of the original story, trying to obtain additional information and to get a statement from her in connection with it. She had never responded to me, but I'd felt that she more than likely was very busy dealing with the grief both she and her daughter were enduring.
Based on the reports from the veterinarian, Toby was a beloved family dog. He had been neutered and micro-chipped and was well cared for. Clearly the little girl adored Toby and he was a huge part of her life that has now been taken away from her, regardless of how it happened.
Hopefully the investigation will find out what happened to Toby during the days from December 13th when he vanished and was reported stolen until December 18th when his body was found in the yard. If indeed he was stolen, then the perpetrator(s) need to be brought to justice for taking away an autistic child's beloved dog.
Our hearts go out to this little girl with the loss of her precious Toby, and for what the future may hold for her. She's what matters the most in all of this.
Click here to read the original story about Toby.
Click here to read more about these new developments.
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