State v. Barbara Fogl, a case we prosecuted for the Medina County SPCA. Fogl was charged with multiple counts of neglect related to her care of 16 animals, including cats and Saluki, Afghan, and Lowchen breed dogs. The animals were kept in deplorable conditions. A strong odor of feces and urine could be detected when…
State v. Willie Powell, Jr., a case we prosecuted for the Cleveland Animal Protective League. Judge Ronald Adrine sentenced Powell to serve 6 months in jail for the neglect of his four dogs, the maximum penalty for a first degree misdemeanor. Powell was previously convicted of attempted dog fighting in 2002. In this case, Powell’s…
State v. Jesse Fry, a case we prosecuted for the Medina County SPCA. Fry’s dog “Chronos,” now known as “Brutus,” was kept in a crate too small to stand up in, forcing the dog to lay in his own excrement. He suffered a urine scald and brown urine and feces stains were visible on his…
State v. Jose DeJesus, a case we prosecuted for the Cleveland Animal Protective League. DeJesus was found guilty of three counts of animal neglect related to the care of birds kept on his property. DeJesus had 80-100 birds on his property, mostly chickens. Most of the birds were being kept in filthy conditions, and without…
State v. Joshua Maldonado, a case we prosecuted for the Cleveland Animal Protective League. Maldonado was found guilty of one count of animal cruelty, a first degree misdemeanor, for the injury to his dog “Diamond.” In this case, witnesses reported either seeing or hearing the Defendant beat Diamond. When the APL responded to the complaints,…
HB 274 “Goddard’s Law” has been assigned to the Ohio Senate Agriculture Committee. A sponsor hearing must be scheduled for this Bill to move on. HB 274: • Prohibits any person from knowingly causing “serious physical harm” to a companion animal. • Enhances the penalty for any person knowingly torturing, tormenting, needlessly mutilating or maiming,…
The Humane Society of Greater Dayton hosts: J. Jeffrey Holland Holland & Muirden, Attorneys at Law Join us for an informational session on animal cruelty and neglect laws and cases. Topics include: • Ohio’s Primary Animal Cruelty Laws • Notice of Seizure and the Probable Cause Hearing • Dog Liability Laws – Civil & Criminal…
Have you ever been concerned about what would happen to your pet if something unexpected happened to you? Ohio law now allows pet owners to create a trust to provide for the care and maintenance of pets if the owner can no longer care for them, be it due to death or other incapacitation. This…
In 2012, Ohio joined 49 states and nearly every country in the world when it removed its breed-specific language from state law. “Pit bull” type dogs were no longer considered “vicious” from birth. Today, the Ohio Revised Code defines a “vicious dog” as a dog that has killed or caused serious injury to any person…
House Bill 274, which aims to make Ohio’s most serious animal cruelty crimes a felony on a first offense, passed the Ohio House of Representatives on December 11, 2013. The vote was 84-8. As passed by the House and outlined in Ohio Legislative Service Commission’s Bill Summary, HB 274 now: • Prohibits any person from…