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Charges likely in 3 cases involving animals
TweetBy JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
Criminal charges likely will be filed against owners of several abused or aggressive animals in three separate cases involving dogs and cats in the city.
A 7-year-old North Hazelwood Avenue boy has been taken to Akron Children’s Hospital main campus for unspecified surgical procedures after being attacked by a pitbull-mastiff mixed- breed dog.
The boy initially was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital in Boardman with bite marks to his wrist, thigh, toe and groin area just after 5 p.m. Wednesday. He was listed in critical condition.
According to police reports, the boy was playing in the driveway of a home at 29 N. Hazelwood Ave. on the West Side with another child who lives in the home when the dog got out of a fenced-in area to the rear of the home and attacked him.
The dog’s owner, Michael Meuter, voluntarily handed the dog over to representatives of the Mahoning County dog warden’s office shortly after the attack.
Sean Toohey, deputy dog warden, said the dog will be held for 10 days in quarantine then euthanized.
Meuter told police the dog had been involved in a previous bite incident, but Toohey said officials have discovered the dog had been involved in three previous bite incidents before attacking the boy this week.
Nikole Baringer of Animal Charity Humane Society, said 46 cats and four dogs had to be euthanized after being taken from a North Side house in deplorable condition earlier this week.
Humane agents also took two ferrets from the Norwood Avenue home, but those animals are being housed at animal charities and will likely be up for adoption.
Baringer said charges are pending against the owners of the animals.
Baringer said the cats were euthanized after testing positive for feline leukemia. She said the disease poses a threat to any cat not vaccinated against the disease.
“If we would have kept the cats, the disease is so easily spread that all they would have had to do is touch noses with another cat to spread the disease,” said Baringer. “Once it is contracted, it cannot be cured.”
Baringer said the four dogs were euthanized because they were highly aggressive.
Animal Charity officials suspect that a pitbull-mix dog that was rescued Tuesday and died that night had been used in dog fighting.
The dog should have weighed 60 to 70 pounds but weighed 25 to 30 pounds, said Joe Borosky, Animal Charity humane agent.
The 1- to 2-year-old dog was found by police severely dehydrated and near death in the backyard of an abandoned Norwood Avenue home. It was tied with a tow chain padlocked around its neck.
Animal Charity has offered a $250 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the dog’s owner. Private citizens and businesses have bumped up the reward to $900.
Baringer said many tips have come into the agency regarding the dog’s owner, and agents are following up on those tips.
Comments
"Baringer said the four dogs were euthanized because they were highly aggressive."
DUH! did anyone stop to think that the reason the dogs were aggressive is because they were starving, unsocialized or trained to be aggressive?
I think euthanizeing the dogs was the easy way out. Put some weight on the dogs and change a dogs enviroment before doing a behavioral assement on dogs
Unfortunately, money/space/time/volunteers are always an issue with rehabilitating animals, not to mention liability.
There are so many waiting for a space in a shelter, sadly this is the answer.
The dogs/cats pay the price for how ignorant people are.
It all costs money, least the dogs are out of that environment....
How sad that these animals had to be put down. My heart aches for every innocent animal; they are all at the mercy of the human element. I just feel the penalties imposed on these sub-humans is not great enough. It takes someone lower than dirt to abuse and neglect their pets to such an extent that they are starving and thirsting to death. I just think that owner needs to have the same kind of treatment. If is good enough for his animals, then it is good enough for him!!!! And sadly, the only thing to do is put down the animal. Sad too that an innocent child has to suffer, especially when the owner KNEW the animal was aggressive. And let us not put all pit bulls in that agressive category. I know there are pits that have been raised in loving homes and they are sweet and gentle. Love and positive attention makes the difference most times.
Local, state, and federal governments need to implement strict laws to prevent animal abuse in addition to aggressive penalties to punish those who do not follow these laws. If we continue to just give a slap on the wrist, the abusive behavior will not change.
As I've always thought, those who abuse animals are very capable of other forms of abuse.
And I agree with you Jamesw2, the animals become aggressive when are subjected to these horrific conditions.
You are correct Stormieangel. Pits who are well trained and loved are excellent companion dogs.
I will not even compose on this website what I really think of the human beings who torture animals this way.
I completly agree with my fellow posters on this issue.
The only way to combat the problems of animal abuse is to make these serious crimes that carry a serious price.
Pitt bulls like any other breed will behave to the conditions they are raised under.
I have several friends who own pitts.
These dogs have been raised with love and attention and are excellent pets.
The're gentle,loving animals and not the least bit aggressive.
Any dog including pitt bulls have to be taught violent,aggressive behavior.
They are not born that way !!!
Any animal starved,neglected of social attention,beaten and tormented will of course become mean,wary and aggressive to any human being including children.
They equate humans with pain and violence and will act to protect and defend themselves.
You can not blame the dog for the harm and damage inflicted upon it by it's owner.
These poor creatures are at the mercy of their so called masters.
And that's why anyone who abuses these otherwise wonderful,loving animals needs to pay severe consequences.
A small fine is by no means a deterrent.