Fighting for Accountability You trust your veterinarian to diagnose and treat your pets. But what if your veterinarian makes a mistake and that mistake hurts, or even kills, your beloved family member? In recent years, the field of veterinary medicine has become increasingly difficult to regulate. In the meantime, pet owners are valuing their pets…
State v. Rionte Rees, a case we prosecuted for the Medina County SPCA. Defendant was found guilty of companion animal neglect for failure to provide proper care of Babe, a 10 month old pit bull. Babe suffered from demodex mange and severe itching resulting in the loss of most of his fur. Rees was sentenced…
State v. David Taylor a case we prosecuted for the Lake Humane Society resulting in a lifetime ban from keeping companion animals. Taylor was convicted in the Willoughby Municipal Court of 9 counts of companion animal cruelty after trial for neglecting his three dogs, who were kept in a cluttered, dirty yard full of debris,…
State v. Christopher Overton, a case we prosecuted in Youngstown investigated by Animal Charity of Ohio, the Humane Society which serves Mahoning County. Mr. Overton had three dogs. Two were in good condition. The third had an extreme untreated skin condition which caused large sections of skin to be red, raw and bloody. Blood and…
State of Ohio v. Travis Wargo and Cari Welk, a case prosecuted for Lake Humane Society. Wargo and Welk both pled guilty to animal neglect. The case involved two cats, Liam and Logan, and a dog, Lily, that were kept in deplorable conditions.The animals suffered from various untreated medical conditions. While the other animals were…
State of Ohio v. Sheri (Shari) Gilbert, a case prosecuted for Lake Humane Society. Gilbert pled guilty to all 10 counts of animal neglect on the day of trial. 24 animals, including dogs, cats, parrots, a guinea pig, and ferrets, were seized from Gilbert’s home. The animals were kept in deplorable conditions and suffered from…
State of Ohio v. Sandra Kay Benedum, a case prosecuted for Pawsibilities Humane Society of Greater Akron and also handled by the Summit County Dog Warden. Benedum, 70, pled guilty to two counts of companion animal neglect regarding 1 dog named Tibet. Tibet had multiple open wounds filled with hundreds of maggots when Benedum brought…
State of Ohio v. Jennifer Toth, a case prosecuted for the Cleveland Animal Protective League. Toth was charged with one count of animal cruelty related to a Lemur named Nova that had an untreated broken leg. The leg was broken at the time Toth purchased the animal. Toth pled to one count of attempted cruelty…
State of Ohio v. Darlene and Alyssa Morrow, a case prosecuted for Lake Humane Society. Darlene and Alyssa Morrow were each charged with neglect related to the care of Alyssa’s dog, Honey. Alyssa Morrow was previously convicted of animal neglect in a case prosecuted by the Painesville Police just 4 days before this incident occurred.…
State v. April McCartney, a case we prosecuted for the Ashland County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance from the Ashland County Humane Society. McCartney was convicted of one count of companion animal neglect regarding 4 cats, 8 dogs and a bearded dragon lizard. Most of the dogs were tied outside in a yard heaped with garbage…