East Liverpool woman let her dog waste away to ‘skin and bones’ and spun a fake rescue story to fool cops — but her actions soon caught up with her
An East Liverpool woman's attempt to mislead the cops with a fabricated story about rescuing a malnourished dog failed miserably. As per the court documents from Tuesday, November 25, 2025, 42-year-old Paula Parks claimed that she "rescued" a distressed dog from the roadside, when it actually lived in her house for days. She insisted she acted out of concern, but in the end, justice was served.
As reported by WKBN, Paula first walked into the East Liverpool Police Department around 5:25 p.m. on Sunday, explaining that she had come across a weak and starving dog on the roadside. She told officers she had seen a man step out of a dark vehicle near a store on Bradshaw Avenue, abandon the dog, and drive away, as per WFMJ. According to her account, she waited for him to leave before approaching the frail animal and bringing it straight to the police. Officers noted the dog looked severely dehydrated, with its ribs and hip bones showing, which made her story appear urgent and believable at first. Police then checked the spot she described and reviewed nearby surveillance cameras, hoping to identify the man she mentioned or the vehicle she claimed to have seen.
But as the investigation moved into the next day, the details didn't add up. Police could not find any footage matching her story, and a tip from the community pointed them toward a home linked to Parks’ family. When officers followed up, they learned the dog had not been abandoned at all; it had reportedly been staying with Parks’ relatives before they were asked to leave her home. Confronted with this information, Parks admitted that the dog had been in her own house for a week and was not eating, causing her to panic about its condition. She told detectives she invented the entire roadside scene because she did not want her family member held responsible. In court, she pleaded no contest to making false alarms and was found guilty, receiving a 90-day jail sentence with 75 days suspended and credit for eight days already served. She was also ordered to serve two years of probation and is prohibited from owning companion animals.
Sadly, the neglect of pet canines is on the rise, with many owners trying to get rid of them without taking responsibility. In another recent incident, a couple in Massachusetts walked into a convenience store late at night with a young Yorkshire Terrier, claiming they had found her abandoned in a cage by the roadside. But surveillance footage later showed they had arrived with the dog themselves and fabricated the entire story. The clerk, unsure what to do, passed the puppy to a customer, who turned her over to animal control. Officers found the six-month-old dog healthy and cared for, with no collar or microchip. When questioned, the woman admitted she had received the dog from a co-worker but abandoned her after her husband refused to keep the pet. Authorities said the case would not lead to charges.