Tag: misdemeanor
Viriginia town bans dog tethering
The Virginia city of Suffolk has approved a ban on dog-tethering, effective the first of September.
After months of wrangling over details and considering compromises, the city council voted 6-2 to enact an outright ban on dog-tethering, the Virginian-Pilot reported.
Suffolk joins a growing number of Virginia cities that have taken steps to ban or limit tethering dogs outside. Hampton forbids it, and Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach limit tethering to a maximum of three hours a day.
Suffolk City Councilman Mike Duman, who had proposed a 10-hour a day limit, said he was pleased with the outcome.
Police Chief Thomas Bennett told the council an outright ban would be easier to enforce than restricting tethering to a certain number of hours a day.
The ordinance makes tethering a Class Four misdemeanor punishable by a $250 fine.
(Photo: A tethered dog photographed in the Pleasant Hill area of Suffolk; by Jason Hirschfeld / The Virginian-Pilot)
Posted by jwoestendiek March 22nd, 2013 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, banned, bans, city council, dog, dogs, fine, hampton, law, misdemeanor, norfolk, outside, pets, portsmouth, restrictions, suffolk, tethering, tying, virginia, virginia beach
Comments: 4
North Dakota rejects animal cruelty measure
North Dakota voters turned down a measure that would have made cruelty to dogs, cats and horses a felony, leaving it one of just two states without felony penalties for mistreating animals.
The other is its neighbor, South Dakota.
A citizen initiative on Tuesday that would have made animal cruelty punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine was defeated by nearly a 2-1 margin.
That means animal abuse remains a misdemeanor, and the most severe punishment for cruelty in the state will continue to be a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
North Dakota’s two major farm groups opposed the measure, saying it was vague and poorly worded, according to the Associated Press.
The measure would have made it it a class C felony “to maliciously and intentionally harm a living dog, cat or horse.”
North Dakotans to Stop Animal Cruelty says it plans to to continue its efforts to change the law.
(Photo: From the Facebook page of North Dakotans to Stop Animal Cruelty)
Posted by jwoestendiek November 8th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: 2012, abuse, animal cruelty, animal welfare, animals, cats, cruelty, cruelty to animals, dogs, election, farmers, felony, horses, increase, measure, misdemeanor, north dakota, north dakotans to stop animal cruelty, opposition, penalties, pets, referendum, vote, voter
Comments: 6
Researcher found guilty of poisoning cats
Nico Dauphiné, the National Zoo researcher accused of poisoning feral cats in the D.C. neighborhood of Meridian Hill Park, was convicted of animal cruelty charges yesterday.
DCist reports that Dauphiné, who denied the allegations in court last week, was pronounced guilty of the misdemeanor charge by D.C. Superior Court Judge Truman Morrison. She will be sentenced on November 21 and faces up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Evidence in the case included a video of Dauphiné appearing to plant something from her purse into a feeder.
“Our Humane Law Enforcement Department works hard to bring justice to abused animals in our city, and we can say with confidence that justice was served today,” said Lisa LaFontaine, president and CEO of the Washington Humane Society, which played a large role in the investigation of the claims.
In a press release, Alley Cat Allies, a national advocacy organization dedicated to the humane treatment of cats, welcomed the verdict and called for Dauphiné to be dismissed from her job as a Smithsonian researcher studying migratory birds.
“We are satisfied with this verdict,” said Becky Robinson, president of Alley Cat Allies. “Americans care about cats and will not tolerate cruelty towards them. We are grateful to law enforcement and to the prosecutors for treating this crime with the seriousness it deserved.”
“We call on the Smithsonian to immediately dismiss Ms. Dauphiné from her position and cancel any research projects in which she was involved,” said Robinson. “Her conviction for attempting to kill cats, along with her history of condemning cats in research, leaves her work suspect of major bias. Her work should be discredited and disregarded by the scientific community.”
“Killing cats is illegal, and feral cats are protected under the law,” she added. “Anti-cruelty laws protect all cats — pet, stray, or feral — in every state and the District of Columbia. Americans who are demanding humane approaches for cats are not going to allow this kind of cruelty to go unpunished.”
Posted by jwoestendiek November 1st, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: alley cat allies, animal cruelty, cats, cruelty to animals, feral cats, guilty, migratory birds, misdemeanor, national zoo, nico daupine, poisoning, researcher, smithsonian, strays, verdict, washington humane society
Comments: 6
Sentencing tomorrow in Chamberlin’s case
A year after Chamberlin was found tied to a tree and abandoned in a backyard in North Carolina, his reputed former owners are scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow on animal cruelty charges.
Chamberlin, whose continuing recovery has been documented by the Guilford County Animal Shelter, had apparently spent two months shackled to a tree behind the home, which the owners had moved out of when they split up.
About two weeks after the dog was found by someone mowing the overgrown yard, Nellie Brock and Wilbert Morrison Jr. were arrested and charged with animal cruelty — a misdemeanor in North Carolina, though it has since been upgraded to a felony.
Chamberlin was too emaciated and weak to stand when he was found without food, water or shelter. A second dog found on the property was barely alive and had to be euthanized.
Chamberlin was taken in by the Guilford County Animal Shelter, where he’s undergone surgery for fused bones in his forelegs, gained weight and has made steady improvements.
Chamberlin’s neglect and heroic struggle to overcome it prompted a state senator to call for amending the state’s animal neglect laws.
Sen. Don Vaughan, a Greensboro Democrat, introduced what he dubbed Chamberlin’s law on the opening day of the General Assembly session.
The bill would allow criminal charges to be brought against pet owners who “recklessly” neglect their pets, as opposed to the current law, which allows just those accused of doing so “maliciously” or “intentionally” to be prosecuted.
Chamberlin, meanwhile, continues to become healthier and more mobile, and learned to get around with wheels.
The sentencing hearing is tomorrow, Wednesday, at 2:30 p.m., at the High Point Courthouse, 505 E. Green Drive, in High Point, N.C.
How much justice will be dispensed is uncertain, but there’s some justice in this:
Chamberlin will be there.
Posted by jwoestendiek September 13th, 2011 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: abandoned, animal cruelty, animals, bones, chamberlin, chamberlin's law, dog, dogs, don vaughan, felony, fused, guilford county, guilford county animal shelter, misdemeanor, neglect, nellie brock, north carolina, pets, recovery, senator, starving, susie's law, tethered, tied, wilbert morrison
Comments: 27
5 days in jail for abandoning pregnant dog
An Ohio man will spend five days in jail for abadoning a pregnant dog at a farm in February.
Darryl Lawson, 45, of Hamilton, pleaded guilty yesterday to misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals and abandoning animals. A judge sentenced him to 90 days in jail, but suspended 85 of the days, the Dayton Daily News reported.
He was also was ordered to pay a $750 fine and serve 40 hours of community service at an animal shelter — even though the judge barred him from having pets in his own household during an additional two years probation.
Lawson’s lawyer said his client is “very remorseful” for abandoning the beagle mix, who later gave birth to puppies while huddled in some in hay.
Lawson immediately regretted his decision and even went back to the farm in an attempt to find the dog. He then called the sheriff’s office and Animal Friends Humane Society, where the dog and pups were taken by a farmer who found them. He turned himself in to animal shelter authorities.
The mother dog and her five puppies were cared for and are thriving in a foster home.
Posted by jwoestendiek April 1st, 2010 under Muttsblog.
Tags: abandon, abandoning, abandonment, animal cruelty, animals, beagle, darryl lawson, dog, dogs, guilty, hamilton, jail, misdemeanor, mix, mother, news, ohio, ohmidog!, pets, pregnant, puppies, sentence
Comments: none
Frozen dog is happier, lighter a year later
Jiffy — an obese border collie mix found frozen to the sidewalk a year ago in Wisconsin — is 40 pounds lighter, a good deal warmer and living with a new family.
Adopted last spring by Patty and Peter Geise, the elderly dog didn’t suffer any lasting injuries from the incident, but it did lead to his previous owner relinquishing her ownership of the dog, the Sheboygan Press reports.
“He’s moving like a regular dog again,” said Patty Geise. Jiffy weighed 116 pounds then, about three times what he should. He’s now down to 76 pounds.
He’s still overweight, but nothing like he was in December 2008, when he arrived at the Sheboygan County Human Society shelter, where Patty Geise volunteers.
He had been found frozen to a sidewalk after being left outside overnight in single-digit temperatures after his owner couldn’t get him back inside the house. His girth turned out to be friend and foe. It contributed to him getting stuck to ground, but his layers of fat also are believed to have kept him warm enough to survive.
His former owner was charged with intentionally mistreating animals following the incident, but the charge was later dismissed. The owner had tried to bring the dog inside, called 911 seeking help, put a blanket over Jiffy, and checked him periodically through the night.
After reports about the incident, the humane society was contacted by hundreds of people from as far away as Spain, all wanting to adopt Jiffy.
(Photo: Geise walks with Jiffy; by Gary C. Klein/The Sheboygan Press)
Posted by jwoestendiek January 25th, 2010 under Muttsblog.
Tags: adopted, animals, border collie, charged, cruelty, dog, dogs, frozen, health, jiffy, lost, misdemeanor, mistreating, new home, obese, overweight, owner, patty geise, peter geise, pets, pounds, rescue, sheboygan, sheboygan county humane society, sidewalk, weather, weight, winter, wisconsin
Comments: none
Dachshund drowning? There’s an App for that
Nathan App was sentenced in Montgomery County Court in Pennsylvania to five years of probation and 60 hours of community service after trying to drown a woman’s dachshund in a backyard swimming pool.
Under a plea agreement, App, 20, of Douglass Township, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals.
“His conduct was disgusting. It was a small, helpless dog. He was basically torturing the dog by repeatedly dunking the dog in water and dragging it by its leash in the water,” Assistant District Attorney Abby Silverman said of the July incident.
Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered App to undergo a psychological evaluation, and prohibited App from owning any animals, according to an article in the Delaware County Daily Times.
App apparently has a history with the dog’s owner — a previous court order had prohibited him from having any contact with her. Apparently, her dog was another matter.
The dog’s owner, who rushed the dog to a veterinarian for treatment after the incident, told police she was alerted to the attempted drowning by her neighbors who had witnessed the cruelty.
Two neighbors reported they observed App pull the dog by a leash into the pool area and then throw the dog into the water, according to the arrest affidavit. One witness claimed App tossed the dog into the air and watched the dog land in the pool, then repeatedly dunked the dog under the water.
Neighbors yelled at App and he pulled the dog out of the water, police said.
The dachshund survived.
Posted by jwoestendiek November 19th, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: abuse, animal cruelty, app, court, dachshund, dachsund, dog, drown, drowning, dunk, dunked, law, misdemeanor, montgomery county, nathan app, pennsylvania, probation, swimming pool, torture
Comments: 6