It is a truely sad story and it happens more often than we know about. I live in the state of Connecticut and we do not have any one "law enforcement" for the state when it comes to animals. In the town I live in we have an animal control officer who deals with roaming dogs, lost animals, rabid animals, etc....but he is only one person and he deals with 4 local towns along with the one I live in. In the bigger cities like New York City, they have special law enforcement officers (like what you have seen on Animal Planet) who are responsible for the animals and they have the resources to do follow-up on people who have neglected animals in the past. Hope this info helps. --- Meg