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YOUNGSTOWN -- For the second time in Rayne Dunmire's six-month jail sentence, Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court denied her early release after a conviction for cruelty to companion animals.
Krichbaum first denied a release request for Dunmire on Feb. 23 without comment. In a ruling filed Tuesday, the judge in a two-page statement denied her second request.
Dunmire, 25, of Youngstown, pleaded guilty to the charge and began serving her sentence Jan. 4. Prosecutors and the judge said she failed to make sure her German shepherd was cared for while she was on vacation.
The dog was found dead in her South Side home in July. Animal Charity of Ohio Inc. of Boardman found the dog in a closet in the attic. Dunmire said she thought the same people who looked after her three kids were going to look after the dog.
In the ruling filed Tuesday, Krichbaum noted the woman and her children "loved this dog" and that what happened to the dog was "a mistake."
Krichbaum ordered Dunmire to own no animals of any kind during five years of probation. She could have received up to one year in prison on the low-level felony offense. At the time of sentencing, Krichbaum said her acts, and failures to act, clearly caused the death "of this helpless animal."
"At that time (of sentencing), the Court advised Defendant that it is the Court's opinion that a dog is one of God's greatest creations, a special gift, a friend and a living creature that is 100 percent dependent upon its master," the judge wrote.
Krichbaum explained that he put Dunmire on probation for the maximum term because it included the first six months in jail and the court would see to it that supervision would prohibit her from owning any type of animal, pet or reptile during the entire five years.
Dunmire's latest bid for freedom, filed last month by her attorney, had stated that "the punitive nature of the sentence and the lesson to be learned has been accomplished, and therefore a release back into the community would be a logical and appropriate next step in the penal process of this case benefiting both Dunmire and society."
Dunmire had been in contact with Flying High "to assist her with vocational training upon her release," the defense filing adds. Flying High is a nonprofit organization in the Youngstown area that helps people obtain "professional qualities that employers look for in potential employees," according to its website.
The judge, however, disagreed, saying she should serve the rest of her jail term and the remaining 4 1/2 years of her probation in its entirety.