An Important Message From Veterinarian Dr. Jimmy Tragle

I took the day off to go to Snow Hill for the purpose of testifying in yet another animal cruelty case. These are often frustrating as the defendants all seem to know how to play the system in hopes the witnesses will tire of taking time off to go to court only to have to reschedule because they've not obtained legal representation yet, want a jury trial, etc. In the past it has not been unusual to have to take at least three days off and spend them sitting in court all day waiting for my turn on the stand only to have the trial put off.

Yesterday was the second time I went to court on this case, and actually probably the fifth time I'd been to court for the same defendant. I testified against him five years ago in a case that was remarkably similar and had to go in at least three times back then. In the original case he and his girlfriend left 3 dogs, a couple of ferrets and a cat in the house they were renting after having a dispute with the ownerof the house. They came in over a period of time to leave food in the house, but never cleaned up after the animals or let them outside. That original location was awful and I am glad I only got to look at the photographs rather than enter the place for the first hand experience. The animals were in poor condition but most of them recovered nicely. If I remember correctly one of the dogs had to be put down because it had been in the house with no human contact since it was a puppy and wasn't very receptive to interacting with people. I don't recall the exact outcome of that trial, but both defendants (in two separate trials - ho hum, more time off from work) were ordered to not have animals in their possession for a period of two years. I believe there were fines involved and as well as suspended jail terms.

Fast forward to last March and bring in a new landlord victim as well as a few more animals. The house was in pretty much the same state as the other one. It all came to light when a neighbor called the owner/landlord and complained that they could smell urine from the street. The landlord went to the property and knocked on the door only to be greeted by barking dogs. No tenants answered. She left a note asking them to contact her and they didn't. On a subsequent visit no one would respond at the front door, but as she was leaving the man came from behind the house to tell her "there wasn't anything she could do to them."

Her next step was to initiate eviction procedures as well as file complaints with theWorcester County Animal Control. The animals were collected and two were laterbrought to my office where I examined them. One was a really nice dog that had a really bad problem with its skin as well as being a bit underweight. The other was a long haired cat that weighed about half what is should have, was covered with fleas, and had diarrhea all matted in the hair around its rear end.

What I learned in court yesterday was they'd pretty much done the same with these as far as feeding and cleaning. That is to say, a 50 lb bag of dog food (no cat food forthe cat) was ripped open and the animals were left to pick out of it on their own.Water was only available from a toilet. There was feces and urine all over the house on the bed, on a couch, down in the central AC vents, all over the floor. The house originally had horse hair plaster in it and all that had to be ripped out as the smell was pretty well locked into it. Unlike the first home where they'd left the animals alone THEY WERE LIVING IN THIS MESS!

His girlfriend has not been served as she hasn't been found yet. He on the other hand has been living with his parents. I'm not certain of his age but there's a bit of snow on the roof if you get what I mean. His defense was the animals were his girlfriend's pets, not his and that he'd moved out at the end of February. The landlord's first time to the house was March 8. He was there around March 10. Not that it makes any difference as the house obviously had been accumulating filth for a long, long time.

For his troubles he was found guilty of two counts of animal neglect. Before sentencing he informed the judge that he was living with his parents as they needed his care (scary) and that he was always having to drive them places as they were dependent upon him for transportation. The judge was not impressed and sentenced him to 90 days for each count to be served consecutively. He'll undoubtedly be let out in 4 months for good behavior if he doesn't screw up in jail. However, this is the harshest sentence I've ever seen delivered for animal neglect on any case I've been in as an expert witness. He wasn't excluded from pet ownership for any time period though, and I'd have liked that to have been part of the sentence. I think perhaps that was down to a lack of discussion between myself, animal control, and the DA.

What I found amusing was that his parents left together (he wasn't allowed to leave) and were walking a few yards ahead of the animal control officer, the home owner, and myself. They got into their car and drove off just fine. I felt sorry for them as they looked like nice folks. I am certain their son's behavior was quite troubling to them. All things considered, I'm satisfied with the outcome. It was a pleasure working with the judge and prosecution. I am looking forward to testifying again once his girlfriend has been located.