Also useless is MSPCA. Jan and I tumbled upon a severly injured yellow tabby young male while investiging a different problem in Dorchester sev. years ago. Noticed on someone's back porch was a dirty litter box and other evidence of once having had a cat but not anymore..
Just as we got inside the apt. building to the apt. door to knock or prowl (i don't remember) the cat came up some cellar stairs limping and mewing. We scooped him up and brought him right to the vets. And, oddly enough, on the apt. door was a business card from the law enforcement office of MSPCA. But we didn't know there would be a connection between the apt. and the cat.
The next day, we were out there on the original mission (2 females abandoned by owners- find them was the assignment per the rescue group we were then volunteering with and that's a whole other too long story!). We saw the MSPCA van and the guy knocking on the apt door and laid low. When he was getting in his van, we got out of the car and asked him why he was there. Turned out he was responding to an animal abuse case re: the cat we had!
He was very pleased that we had him (Benji) and asked for copies of the medical record so he could place charges against the owner. Benji had a ruptured spleen and multiple other injuries. He was fixed up and the paperwork sent to MSPCA. The court judge saw the medical paperwork and placed no charges (that I remember-jan, correct me if i'm wrong). I think the owner was told "no new pets for 2 years" and I remember being informed that there is not enough employees with MSPCA to make sure this is honored!