Ex-MTV star Madeleine Cornish charged with abusing her puppy
Ex-MTV star charged with abusing her puppy Benson after locking him in a house without food or water for THREE weeks
- Madeleine Cornish, 22, of Louisville, Kentucky, arrested on a cruelty to animal charge
- Police allege she left her mastiff Benson in a house without food or water for three weeks while she moved
- She then allegedly dumped the dog to avoid prosecution
- Benson weighed just 30 pounds and was not expected to survive
- He has since gained a lot of weight and his health is being restored at animal shelter The Arrow Fund
- Benson appeared in the 2010 MTV reality series Baby High
102
View
comments
A former MTV reality star has been arrested on a cruelty to animal charge in Kentucky after allegedly abandoning her puppy in a house without food or water for three weeks.
The dog, a mastiff named Benson is only about six months old, was so emaciated he weighed less than 30 pounds.
Severely malnourished, he ranked he ranked the lowest number possible on the body condition scale used by veterinarians, according to Wave 3.
Madeleine Cornish, 22, who appeared in the 2010 MTV show Baby High, was in the process of moving in Louisville when she neglected her dog, according to police.
Scroll down for video
Shocking: Staff at animal shelter The Arrow Fund in Louisville did not expect Benson to survive after he was found dumped and weighing 30 pounds
Charged: Madeleine Cornish, 22, was arrested on a cruelty to animal charge after leaving her puppy in a house without food or water for three weeks while she moved.
Malnourished: This is Benson when he first arrived at the animal shelter, looking like he was close to death
Heartbreaking: Police allege Cornish dumped the starving dog to avoid getting into trouble for the way she treated him
Starving: Benson is only six-months-old
Then, realizing how sick the pup had become, she allegedly dumped him.
Benson was found wandering along a street searching for food and looking physically ill.
RELATED ARTICLES
Cats DECODED: DNA of domestic feline fully sequenced for the... 
Is this the world's fattest cat?: Two-and-a-half stone...
Share this article
ShareHe was taken into the care of 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.
He ranked as a ‘1' on the body condition score chart used by vets, which is the lowest and worst number an animal can receive.
Healthy: After one month of treatment at The Arrow Fund, Benson - now named Hank - is getting back to normal and has gained alot of weight
Benson - who has been renamed Hank - has since gained alot of weight and is getting back to normal.
'He is only five to six months old so we don't now if there's going to be a long-lasting issue with this,' Leslie Spetz, from The Arrow Fund, told WLKY.
'Its bad when it happens to any animal, but for a puppy like that and especially a large breed dog, it can have repercussions long-term.'
Benson was one of four students to feature in the little-seen Baby High, which followed young moms in the Teenage Parenting Program at Westport Alternative High School.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWJ%2FeH6Sbm1sZ3Wteo6gtWaqrZmiYrCprdGgnJ1lkZfCtLXNoGSepZGYtqLAxJ1kqa2gpcZujsSnqqimXajBor7VoqWgZaSdv6axjLCcnqOjY7W1ucs%3D