Wanted Wednesday – July 3: Nine Cats Poisoned In Ottawa County

Every Wednesday the Nitro Foundation posts links to the unsolved tragedies and cold caseson their Facebook page, which are shared and highlighted here.

Please share this article to help spread the word! Together we can and will make a difference.

Wolf’s two favorite cats were poisoned on Memorial Day. Credits: P.Wolf

Danbury, Ottawa County

Phil Wolf and his wife care for cats in the quiet Lakeside community, east of Port Clinton. Some of the cats are feral, and others are friendly.

In recent months, someone in the community has been poisoning the cats, and others have gone missing. Wolf had necropsies performed on two of his favourite cats, who were found dead on his property Memorial Day weekend and verified that they’d been poisoned.

At least nine cats have fallen victim to the anonymous killer.

The Ottawa county Humane Society is investigating, because poisoning animals is a crime. The administrators of Lakeside have stated they will not tolerate the poisoning of any animals and will prosecute the killer if found.

There is a reward of $3,000 for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible.

You can contact the Ottawa County Humane Society at hsocpets@yahoo.com or by calling 419-734-4353 or the Danbury Police Department at (419) 732 -2549 or e-mail policeinvestigaitons@danburypolice.com.

The Nitro Foundation realized their mission make animal abuse a first offense felony in Ohio, when Nitro’s Law HB90 was signed into law by Governor John Kasich on July 1. The Nitro Foundation sees this as just the beginning, and plans to build onto Nitro’s Law to further strengthen animal welfare laws in Ohio.

You can find out more about Nitro’s Law on the Foundation’s website.

News Link:-http://www.examiner.com/article/wanted-wednesday-july-3-nine-cats-poisoned-ottawa-county?cid=rss

Animal cruelty case dismissed against Belmont Co. man, wife pleads guilty

“WTF…so now you can starve you’re dogs, not get prosecuted & have dogs returned..obviously the judge isn’t an animal lover!!”

BELMONT COUNTY, Ohio —

An animal cruelty case against a Belmont County man was dismissed before his trial started on Tuesday.

Joseph Schaeffer and his wife, Sherry Schaeffer, were accused of starving a 2-year-old Doberman at their Holloway home in March. The dog was nursed back to health by humane officers. 

A Northern Court judge dismissed the case against Joseph Schaeffer without prejudice.

Sherry Schaeffer was also in court and pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty.

Three dogs will be returned to them, and one dog will stay at an animal shelter. Court officials said Joseph Schaeffer must not violate the terms set to ensure the welfare of the dogs.

News Link:-http://www.wtov9.com/news/news/animal-cruelty-case-dismissed-against-belmont-co-m/nYT9Z/

Doctors in Veterinary, Human Medicine Team to Give Burned Horse a Second Chance

“This is amazing to say the least, & the owners of Northstar obviously love him like one of their own children; like I do my horses! Some owners would have just had him put down, but not Northstars parents! I truly hope all this works & Northstar will soon be able to go out into a field, lay down & have a good roll. I hope the bastards that set fire to him experience the same injuries at some point, however it happens, I just want them to feel what burn pain is; so may they rest in Hell!”

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The unlikely pairing of an equine veterinarian and a burn surgeon is providing a second chance at a normal life for a horse that was doused in flammable liquid and set on fire late last summer.

Northstar, purposely set on fire, perpetrators not found

The Ohio State University doctors and their teams have partnered to perform two skin graft procedures on the American Paint Horse named Northstar, who suffered severe burns to almost half of his body when the abuse occurred.

The same instruments used in a typical human burn surgery were used for the horse’s grafting procedures. The clinicians removed ultrathin sheets of skin from Northstar’s chest and expanded them with a meshing tool before placing the grafts across an enormous wound spanning the horse’s back.

When he arrived in Columbus on Sept. 5, Northstar had exposed bone at the base of his neck as a result of the burns. Skin damage extended from his neck to the base of his tail and along both of his sides. No suspect has been identified in the case.

The doctors’ collaboration – not to mention the unusual size of the back wound – has provided a rare learning experience for both clinicians and their colleagues.

“There’s been a lot of trial and error with the challenges of how to bandage him, what the most appropriate antiseptic is for cleaning the wound bed, and the biology of burned tissue in a horse,” said Samuel Hurcombe, assistant professor of veterinary clinical sciences and the leader of Northstar’s care team.

Veterinary experts got the healing off to a good start with relentless wound management, a series of smaller skin grafts and the implantation of cell cultures in the wound bed. These procedures were performed to bring top-layer skin tissue to the central area of the expansive wound bed on Northstar’s neck and shoulders, where all his skin had burned away.

Surgeons treat horse like human burn victim

To address the large wound across the horse’s back, Hurcombe consulted longtime trauma and burn surgeon Larry Jones at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center. The two observed one another’s surgeries and studied human- and veterinary-medicine journal articles before teaming to accelerate Northstar’s care.

Jones, associate professor of clinical surgery and director of the Burn Center at the medical center, led the two larger skin graft surgeries. Early on, he encountered a significant challenge: how deep to set the tool that would peel off the donor skin.

“We want to take the top layer of skin but we also need a portion of the second layer, the dermis,” he said. After Jones consulted with Hurcombe and the two conducted more research, “I knew I had to take a graft that’s about twice as thick as one I would take if I were operating on a human.”

The team then ran the graft through a mesher that cut holes in the graft skin and allowed for expansion of the graft to about four times its original size. “When the graft takes, the holes will fill in from skin cells growing from the edges,” Jones said.

They dressed the wounds with bandages containing medical-grade silver, which functions as an antibiotic, to speed healing of the grafts and the donor sites.

At this stage of the horse’s recovery, more than half of the initial wound is healed, with the repair resulting from both the various skin grafting procedures and normal closure along the edges of the damaged skin.

Burn victim, set on fire

Northstar will likely undergo a series of additional sheet graft surgeries to completely heal the wound. Multiple grafts are often required for extensive human burn injuries, as well.

“It’s a slow process but even in the time we’ve been caring for him, he has made remarkable progress,” said Hurcombe, a specialist in equine emergency and critical care. “From a welfare standpoint, his psychology is great and after what he’s gone through, the fact that he is still so trusting of people is pretty amazing.”

While he initially appeared to be a dark horse for recovery, Northstar persevered through weeks of daily cleansing and removal of dead and infected tissue followed by the application of antiseptics, honey, aloe and silver sulfadiazine cream, a common human burn treatment, to his damaged tissue.

In yet another application of human medicine in veterinary care, the team has treated Northstar with gabapentin (sold under the brand name Neurontin), a medication used for neuropathic pain in humans, to treat the severe itching and nerve-related pain that is typical in burn patients as they recover. “I take this medication for pain, I really hope it’s helping Northstar!!”

Northstar, who turned 7 in January, is a “young, naughty boy” and would love nothing more than to toss himself to the ground and roll on his back to scratch that persistent itch, Hurcombe said. So the horse is gently tethered to keep him standing and he wears a cradle that immobilizes his neck several hours throughout the day. He is also covered in bandages and wears what is called a full-body “sleazy” covering that is typically seen on show horses.

The clinicians hope that Northstar will have a complete layer of skin coverage by his 8th birthday. The road ahead is a long one, both physicians acknowledge. The location of his back wound is a tricky one to treat because even with secure bandages from his neck to his tail, the horse anatomy in the location of the burn is such that Northstar’s every movement slightly disturbs the grafted areas.

“His skin graft take is a little less than what I am used to in humans,” Jones noted. “But as Dr. Hurcombe reminds me, considering his hospital bed is in a barn, he is doing very well.

“I view Northstar in the same way as I do any of my other patients. I just want him to get better and go on and live his life as a horse.”

Northstar’s owners live in northwestern Pennsylvania, where police have investigated the burning incident as a criminal case.

“All the owners want is for him to be happy, pain-free and able to live his life with his pasture mates,” Hurcombe said. “He is bright and alert, he interacts with people and he can eat and drink and do all the things that a horse can normally do as far as function. And he has been telling us through his behaviors that he wants to live. ”

News Link:–http://www.newswise.com/articles/doctors-in-veterinary-human-medicine-team-to-give-burned-horse-a-second-chance?ret=/articles/list&category=medicine&page=1&search%5Bstatus%5D=3&search%5Bsort%5D=date+desc&search%5Bsection%5D=10&search%5Bhas_multimedia%5D=

Related:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/09/07/pennsylvania-horse-doused-with-flammable-liquid-set-on-fire/

Related:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/horse-set-ablaze-sparks-animal-cruelty-investigation/

UPDATE: Elizabeth Lewis found guilty of animal cruelty in death of pit bull Bruiser

“Guilty; but I think her sentence is pitiful. Just look at that face & remember it, that’s the face of an animal abuser! These people are heartless & self-centred, they don’t’ give a shit about living sentient beings. They are so cruel & callous, they walk past their pets each day, not giving a dam that they are starving, cold, injured etc. So instead of sending them to a cosy prison (often better than their own abode) with a cosy bed, food etc. I personally I think it would do more good & certainly be cheaper, to just drop them off on a deserted island, surrounded by sharks so they can’t get away. No food, water or protection! Because that’s the only way they are ever going to get close, to how their pet felt! See how they bloody well like that, I bet there wouldn’t be half as many who would abuse an animal again!!” 

Video at link below. HAMILTON, Ohio — A Hamilton woman charged with animal cruelty in the death of her dog was found guilty Tuesday after pleading no contest.

In February, Elizabeth Lewis’ pit bull, Bruiser, was found emaciated and was later euthanized to end his suffering.

Elizabeth Lewis, 19, of Hamilton

Lewis, 19, previously faced an animal cruelty charge for the alleged mistreatment of Bruiser. The dog was taken to an animal shelter in August.

At that time, he weighed 17 pounds and appeared to be malnourished. She was found not guilty of the first charge after a bench trial.

Animal rights supporters created a Facebook page in memory of the pit bill, called “Justice For Bruiser.”

The group, and the online response surrounding it, caused the case to garner national attention and dozens of protestors locally.

Tuesday, Lewis was found guilty of animal cruelty and failure to file for a dog tag. She was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 90 of which were stayed. 

She owes $646 in court costs and faces two years of supervised community service.

Video & News Link:– http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/news/region_north_cincinnati/hamilton/elizabeth-lewis-found-guilty-of-animal-cruelty-in-death-of-pit-bull-bruiser#ixzz2Wf2qtu9X

Related:-https://preciousjules1985.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/woman-faces-animal-cruelty-charges-for-second-time-in-less-than-a-year/

Ohio Governor Issues Order On Exotic Animal Rules

COLUMBUS: Gov. John Kasich has cleared the way for Ohio to enforce temporary rules set by a board that was created under the state’s new law on exotic animals.

The Dangerous and Restricted Animals Advisory Board established interim rules for cage sizes and the care taking of regulated animals, such as alligators, cougars and lions. Kasich signed an executive order Tuesday that enables the Ohio Department of Agriculture to adopt the rules immediately.

The advisory board decides the proper thickness of the animals’ cages and how they should be maintained, among other requirements. Kasich’s order says animal owners will have 90 days to comply with the rules once they’re adopted.

More permanent standards will be put in place when new state permits are required in 2014.

News Link:-http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/ohio-governor-issues-order-on-exotic-animal-rules-1.353575?localLinksEnabled=false

 

‘Breaking Amish’ Cast Members Claim Bestiality Part Of Amish Life

Viewers tuning into a recent episode of TLC’s new hit show “Breaking Amish” saw the cast discussing Amish men having sex with animals, sparking questions about bestiality and incest in the Amish community.

The new series that debuted Sept. 9 claims to follow the lives of five fresh-faced Amish and Mennonites.

The cast members, who are from Pennsylvania and Ohio, were purportedly taken to New York City to explore life outside their culture.

The cast of “Breaking Amish” had a bizarre conversation about animal sex in a recent episode,

The conversation during the Oct. 7 episode, “What is Really Happening,” was filmed at a restaurant in New York and involved the entire cast — Rebecca Byler, Abe Schmucker, Jeremiah Raber, Sabrina Burkholder and Katie Stoltzfus.

Leading into the human-on-animal sex discussion, Byler opines that there was a lot of incest within the Amish community. “I feel like where we come from everyone’s incest[uous] honestly,” Byler says. “Like first and second cousins getting married … that’s disgusting.”

Schmucker counters that there are a lot of “good Amish people out there, but there are a lot of perverts too.”

This apparently opens the door to taboo sex acts, as Raber says, “You would be surprised how many Amish married men confess to having sex with animals. You would be surprised.”

Raber later clarifies that not all Amish men are having sex with animals, but adds, “There’s a lot of them.”

Stoltzfus during a one-on-one interview with producers later in the show appears to be the only one at the table offended by the discussion. “I’m not really comfortable talking about things like that and the topic of conversation was just not really what I thought was appropriate,” she says.

A lot of questions have arisen online and in the media about the program’s authenticity. But the frank discussion among the cast caused a stir on-line, as some viewers appeared to accept the opinions as fact, while others found them ludicrous.

News Link:–http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/18/breaking-amish-animal-sex-beastiality_n_1980813.html

Ohio Owners Sue State Over New Exotic Animal law

(I know, I know, I am behind with a lot of posts, so some news has been & gone… I’m going as fast as I physically can do… 🙂 )

“I honestly don’t think anybody should have the right to own & especially breed wild animals. If want to see a wild animal then go to its habitat instead of being lazy & growing one in your backyard!”

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Four owners of exotic animals in Ohio are suing the state’s agriculture department and its director over a new law regulating dangerous wildlife, contending the restrictions threaten their First Amendment and property rights.

The lawsuit was filed Friday in Columbus federal court. It comes as the owners faced a Monday deadline to register their animals with the state.

In this Aug. 25, 2010 photo, Cyndi Huntsman poses in front of caged tigers at her Stump Hill Farm in Massillon, Ohio. Huntsman is one of four owners of exotic animals in Ohio suing the state’s agriculture department and its director over a new law regulating the dangerous wildlife. Photo: Mark Duncan / AP

The owners’ attorney said Monday that the state has agreed not to enforce certain provisions of the law until there’s a hearing on the lawsuit. Attorney Robert Owens said lawyers were still reviewing the agreement, but a court order detailing the arrangement was expected in the coming days.

For instance, under the agreement, Ohio officials wouldn’t refer owners for prosecution if they didn’t register their animals by Monday.

Under the law, owners who don’t register could face a first-degree misdemeanor charge for a first offense, and a fifth-degree felony for any subsequent offenses.

A spokeswoman for the agriculture department declined to comment on the lawsuit and the agreement.

The owners claim the law forces them to join private associations and possibly give up their animals without compensation. They also take issue with a requirement that the animals be implanted with a microchip before they’re registered, so the creatures can be identified if they get lost or escape.

The state has said it would work with owners on the microchip requirement.

As of Monday, Ohio’s agriculture department said it had received 130 registration forms accounting for 483 dangerous wild animals in the state.

In this Aug. 25, 2010 photo, Cyndi Huntsman holds a baby zebra at her Stump Hill Farm in Massillon, Ohio. Huntsman is one of four owners of exotic animals in Ohio suing the state’s agriculture department and its director over a new law regulating the dangerous wildlife. Photo: Mark Duncan / AP

Ohio’s restrictions on exotic animals had been among the nation’s weakest.

State lawmakers worked with a renewed sense of urgency to strengthen the law after owner Terry Thompson last fall released 50 creatures from an eastern Ohio farm in Zanesville before he committed suicide.

Authorities killed 48 of the animals, fearing for the public’s safety. Two others were presumed eaten by other animals. The six surviving animals were placed under quarantine at the zoo. Five were later returned to Thompson’s widow, Marian Thompson. The zoo had to euthanize one leopard.

Marian Thompson was among those who registered animals with the state. She submitted information for the two leopards, two primates and a bear that survived.

Registration forms obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request also show she has two 11-week-old leopards on the property.

The owners suing the state have multiple breeds of exotic animals. They are Terry Wilkins, who owns a reptile and amphibian store called Captive Born Reptiles in Columbus; Cyndi Huntsman, owner of Stump Hill Farm in Massillon; Mike Stapleton, owner of Paws & Claws Animal Sanctuary in Prospect; and Sean Trimbach, owner of Best Exotics LLC in Medway, where he breeds, raises and sells exotic animals.

In their lawsuit, the owners say the cost of implanting a microchip in the animal can exceed the animal’s value. They also contend that joining certain groups to become exempt from the law means they would have to associate and fund organizations with which they disagree.

The law exempts sanctuaries, research institutions and facilities accredited by some national zoo groups, such as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Zoological Association of America.

While the law took effect last month, some aspects have yet to kick in. For instance, a permit process for owners won’t begin until next October.

Current owners who want to keep their animals must obtain the new state-issued permit by Jan. 1, 2014. They must pass background checks, pay fees, obtain liability insurance or surety bonds, and show inspectors that they can properly contain the animal and care for it.

One of the factors of obtaining of permit includes timely registration.

If owners are denied permits or can’t meet the new requirements, the state can seize the animals.

News Link:- http://www.chron.com/news/article/Owners-lawyer-Agreement-reached-in-exotics-case-4009262.php#photo-3692025

UPDATE: Guilty Pleas for Men Charged in Dog Stabbings

“The laws related to crimes like this need to be raised to felony charges! 7 months for their brutal attack is pathetic! When someone has purposefully & intentionally killed an animal without any provocation…what does that say about their state of mind? Will they have forgotten all about it in 7 months…No…likely to do something like this again..YES…but they will make sure they are undetected next time. Look at the anger, the evil in their eye’s…watch out for these names in the future, they have a mean streak, they will offend again!” 

UPDATE 9/13/12 @ 11:20 a.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) — “This is the meanest act I’ve ever seen,” were the words of Judge Oakley Clark Collins Jr. just before sentencing the two men who pleaded guilty to stabbing and slitting the throats of two dogs.

Jonathan Jiles, 20, of Pedro, and Brian Sharp, 20, of Pedro, pleaded guilty to prohibition concerning companion animals and criminal trespassing during a hearing in Ironton Municipal court Thursday morning.

Each man was sentenced to seven months in the county jail, three years probation and fined $1,200. They must also pay restitution of $800 to the dog’s owner and can’t own a penned animal for three years.

The dog’s owners, Josie and Michael Scythes, found “Bubba” and “Bear” stabbed to death in the front yard of their home in Pedro last month.

Sheriff Lawless says following their arrest, both men admitted to their involvement in the stabbings and said they were drunk at the time. They also said they did not target the owners of the dogs.

Both Jiles and Sharp told the court they were sorry for what they did but the dog’s owner said they wish more could be done in cases like this.

“I just couldn’t believe why they would do something like this. Why they would want to do it. I’m very pleased they got the max the law would allow for such a brutal act. It should be considered a felony,” said Josie Scytes.
UPDATE 8/30/12 @ 9:10 a.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) – A second person has been arrested in connection with the stabbing deaths of two dogs in Lawrence County, Ohio.

Sheriff Jeff Lawless says Jonathan Jiles, 20, of Pedro, was arrested Wednesday night. Brian Sharp, 20, of Pedro, was arrested Monday night.

Sheriff Lawless says both men admitted to their involvement in the stabbings and said they were drunk at the time. They also said they did not target the owners of the dogs.

The two dogs were found stabbed death in the front yard of a home in Pedro early Saturday morning.

Both men are charged with prohibition concerning companion animals. They are also charged with criminal trespassing.

When it came to choosing a charge, Lawless tells WSAZ.com that “When you have a crime like this, where people have targeted these innocent animals, we wanted to go after them. And as we looked at the statutes that would govern this for the Ohio Revised Code, cruelty to animals is certainly a charge that would stick so we wanted to research to see if there was something that was a little more stringent because we felt like the nature of the crime warranted a little bit more. So we were able to come up with a prohibition concerning companion animals charge.”

The charge is a misdemeanor one, compared to cruelty to animals being a misdemeanor two. The prohibition charge has a stiffer jail punishment.

The men face six months in jail if they are convicted.

ORIGINAL STORY 8/27/12 @ 12:30 p.m.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ohio (WSAZ) — A family from Lawrence County, Ohio is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who can help find the person who stabbed their two dogs to death over the weekend.

Josie Scythes says it happened sometime early Saturday morning outside her home in the 300 block of State Route 373 in Pedro.

She and her husband found their two dogs with multiple stab wounds and their throats slit.

“I just don’t understand what kind of a person could do this to an innocent animal,” Scythes said. “And if they can do this, what’s next? Somebody’s kid?”

Scythes is asking anyone with any information to contact the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. If a tip leads to an arrest, she is offering a $1,000 reward.

News Link:-http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Family-Offers-Reward-after-Dogs-were-Stabbed-to-Death-167566755.html

 

Dogs Being Burned Alive At Ohio Shelter

Animal advocates have been trying to put an end to gas chamber euthanization at the Fairfield County Dog Shelter near Lancaster, Ohio. Two of the county’s three Commissioners have postponed the vote, even when presented with eyewitness accounts that dogs are coming out of the gas chamber still alive and are thrown into the incinerator along with the dead animals.

Dogs are being burned alive in Ohio.

This week, about 100 people packed the Commissioners’ hearing room to speak to decision makers about discontinuing the inhumane practice. Animal welfare advocates want the county Commissioners to start using lethal injection instead. Fairfield County is among approximately ten of the eighty-eight Ohio counties that still use the gas chamber to kill county-shelter dogs, according to the Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Ohio County Dog Wardens Association.

Related:  Second Witness Speaks Out Against Ohio Dog Burning Shelter

Commissioner Steve Davis said that he is in favor of changing the policy from gassing to injection. He was the only Commissioner to speak to protestors and thank them for coming to the meeting. He planned to vote on the measure this week, however, Commissioners Mike Kiger and Judy Shupe said they wanted more time to make a decision. Voting was postponed, likely for two weeks. The two Commissioners cited a desire to examine cost and other factors before voting.

Related:  Former Warden Speaks Out Against Ohio Dog Burning Shelter

Commissioner Kiger attended a gassing at the shelter, but still thought the practice was humane. For those who have never witnessed euthanization by gassing, film footage of gas chamber use is included with this article. Although it is not footage from the Fairfield shelter, it is representative of the process.

Published on 3 Jul 2012 by TheCorruptedGhost

WARNING: Graphic.
This scene was taken from “One Nation Under Dog.”
This, in most states, is what happens when a shelter is too full and must dispose of dogs. This isn’t something that was filmed decades ago and no longer exists. This hasn’t changed. This, is probably going on as you read and watch this clip.
Overpopulation of pets is because of one: people don’t spay and neuter their pets, and so they reproduce and have litters with nowhere to go, and two: because people keep buying pets from pet stores.

It is clearly apparent that animals that are gassed suffer emotional and physical distress during the procedure, even when the procedure is carried out correctly – which hasn’t always been the case at the Fairfield shelter.

Although the dog warden maintains that he euthanizes 4 to 6 dogs at a time, a former deputy dog warden and a WEP worker both signed affadavits describing very different experiences. Both employees witnessed the overloading of the chamber, which should hold a maximum of six animals for the gassing to work properly. Both stated that they had seen twelve to sixteen dogs in the euthanization cage at once, more than double the recommended limit.

The former deputy said she had witnessed dogs removed from the chamber who were not dead, and the cage was put through a second cycle. She added that this was often the case with puppies who were too young to be gassed because of their immature respiratory development. She stated that the director of the shelter was instructed to purchase stethoscopes to check for heartbeats, but that he had never carried through.

Two witnesses stood up at the meeting saying they had seen dogs come out of the gas chamber that were not dead and that were thrown into the incinerator still alive. Perhaps that is not surprising since employees as untrained as the WEP worker were forced to do the gassing. Apparently, Commissioners Kiger and Shupe don’t find the thought of animals burned alive disturbing enough to shut down the gas chamber.

Animal advocates started a petition to discontinue gassing at the facility which received 7,000 signatures, but the Commissioners shut off their email accounts because they were “tired of receiving the messages.” The only way to contact Commissioners and voice concern is by phone: 740-652-7090 / 614-322-5260, FAX: 740-687-6048 or mail: 210 East Main Street. Room 301 — Lancaster, Ohio 43130

According to the Change.org website, to kill an animal by carbon monoxide poisoning costs $4.98 per animal versus $2.29 per animal by lethal injection (EBI=Euthanasia By Injection). The argument to continue gassing can only be made as a means of convenience, since a group of animals can be done at once, as opposed to individually by injection.

Amy Bogart, with the Humane Society of the United States, said if the only thing preventing the county from going to a lethal injection form of euthanasia is the cost of training, her organization is willing to pay the cost of the training and setup.

The Fairfield County Dog Shelter has already euthanized 183 dogs this year. In 2011, the county euthanized 578 dogs. These numbers represent about 50% of the shelter’s intake.

News Link:–http://news.petpardons.com/dogs-being-burned-alive-at-ohio-shelter/

Activists give judge standing ovation in dogfighting sentencing

CLEVELAND – Animal rights activists gave a Cuyahoga County judge a standing ovation in court Tuesday morning, following her sentence of a man who took a plea deal in a dogfighting case.

Judge Kathleen Ann Sutula sentenced Collin Rand Jr., 33, to six months in jail, five years community control, and more than $12,000 in fines, restitution and court costs. Rand is never allowed to own a dog.

Collin Rand Jr.

If Rand violates the sentence, the judge said she would send him to prison for more than 12 years.

Rand pleaded guilty to six counts of dogfighting, four counts of cruelty to animals, one count of drug trafficking and one count of carrying a concealed weapon.

Of his six-month jail sentence, Sutula said “it’s a crime in and of itself. If I had the freedom and the discretion, you’d be serving a lot longer sentence, Mr. Rand. Much, much longer. In fact – probably like 27 years. A year for each dog.”

The activists applauded the judge, and said they understood she sentenced Rand to the maximum amount allowed by law. The ovation came when Judge Sutula said in court that Ohio needs stronger laws to protect animals and punish their abusers.

The activists in court support state House Bill 108, which would make animal abuse a felony in Ohio. They wore T-shirts with the phrase “Hope for the 27.”

Police found 27 dogs tied up at Rand’s home on Dec. 22, 2011. The dogs were malnourished and had open wounds and scars. Officers also found a fighting ring and a treadmill with plywood sides to contain the dogs.

In court, it was disclosed some of the dogs had spent their entire lives enclosed in small cages, and their bodies had conformed to the cage walls.

Some dogs needed immediate medical care, and others went to foster homes. Some had to be humanely euthanized.

Vanessa Petrosky is a volunteer long-term foster mom to animals. She told the court nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she went to see the animals taken from Rand’s home on East 91st Street.

“Cages full – row after row – of barking, shivering, coughing, cowering, quivering… the smell was appalling,” Petrosky said. “It was pure heartbreak, and we were all overcome by tears.”

Rand had claimed he acquired the dogs in the condition they were found in, and that he was trying to find them new homes. He thanked the volunteers for getting the dogs the care and support that they needed.

“I assure them that I will never own a dog again, and that I am very sorry for my actions, and I apologize once again, thank you, your honor,” Rand said.

The judge was incredulous.

“I find your explanations and your statements to be totally incredible,” Judge Sutula said. “They are not worthy of belief. No one with a heart could look at these animals and not get help.”

The judge also said Rand’s letter to her in July offended her. The letter stated he needed to serve less time in county jail on the drug count because he had seven children, who are with different women.

Judge Sutula also ordered him to register for child support for all of the children within five days of his release from jail.

“I fear for those children’s lives, and how they are being raised,” Judge Sutula said. “Other people don’t need to support your children. You need to do that.”

During the sentencing, the judge also referenced the stack of letters on her bench.

“I have never received more letters on any case in 21 years as I have on this case,” the judge said. “I have never received such… touching letters on any case. In one way I’m saddened by that because I’ve had many murders and child abuse cases. I wish I had received as many letters on those as I have on this. But certainly, this is an egregious situation.”

Judge Sutula said she has a rescue dog in her home, and was grateful her pet was rescued at a young age.

Video & News Link: http://www.newsnet5.com//dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/activists-give-judge-standing-ovation-in-dog-fighting-sentencing#ixzz23Z9KHyCW