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Case #11385 Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Pregnant dog left in freezing weather, pups die
Chesilhurst, NJ (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 1, 2007
County: Camden
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» Robert E. McCann
» Rita Dickerson - Dismissed
Case Updates: 6 update(s) available
A borough councilman in Chesilhurst, Camden County, and his mother have been charged with animal cruelty after nine of their newborn puppies died in last winter's cold.
Councilman Robert McCann, 50, and his mother, Rita Dickerson, 67, were accused in an SPCA summons that was served on May 1, 2007 with nine counts of failure to provide proper shelter for the family dog, a chocolate Labrador retriever named Coco, and her newborn puppies.
The charges are disorderly persons offenses, with a maximum penalty of 30 days' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine for each count. A court date has been set for May 16 in Berlin Municipal Court.
McCann and his mother said the charges were part of a political plot that began with his recent campaign for Chesilhurst borough mayor.
"Since I've decided to run for mayor, my opponent has been attacking me through my mother, which is shameless," McCann said. "We're not guilty of anything. It's an attempt at political assassination by my opponents. . . . We'll have our day in court."
His mother also denied the cruelty allegations. Dickerson said the family has been cited several times recently by various agencies, in one case for a picnic table infraction, another for a portable toilet breach. Yesterday, she said, a forest ranger showed up and cited her for a smoky barbecue pit.
New Jersey SPCA Sgt. Jane Donoghue said McCann's dog had been left outside in February's "incredibly cold" weather to give birth to 15 puppies in a doghouse. Nine of the 15 puppies died, she said, of complications from hypothermia. One other, she said, was born dead.
The five surviving puppies have since been adopted by other families.
Animal activist Kathy McGuire said her organization, New Jersey Aid for Animals, had reported Coco's plight to the SPCA after a receiving a tip. McGuire said her organization had purchased the surviving puppies from McCann for $250 and borrowed the 9-year-old mother dog until the puppies were weaned.
An additional charge of neglect accuses McCann of failing to provide Coco with necessary veterinary care.
Dickerson said Coco was kept in a doghouse and was well cared for. None of the puppies died, she said, until they were taken by the SPCA.
"How do we know they died?" she said. "If they died, it was after they took them and separated the pups from their mother."
Donoghue said the puppies died after the SPCA took them because of an infection caused by the cold.
Case UpdatesRobert McCann, a former Chesilhurst councilman, was convicted Thursday of four counts of animal cruelty after a municipal court judge found he had failed to provide sufficient shelter for a dog after she delivered a litter of puppies in a cold snap last winter.
Specially appointed Municipal Judge William Golden dismissed five additional animal cruelty counts. He imposed a $1,200 fine on McCann, ordered him to pay $894.93 restitution to the animal hospital that cared for the dog and puppies, and also ordered 100 hours of community service.
Golden suspended imposition of the sentence while McCann, 51, appeals the conviction.
McCann, who was a member of the borough council when he was charged with the offenses in February 2007, said the charges were filed in retaliation after he filed notice he planned to seek election as mayor in the Camden County municipality.
A paralegal, McCann said prosecution witnesses, including representatives of animal welfare groups, had lied about him and portrayed him as "some kind of monster."
Golden said he "knows nothing about political machinations" that led to the disorderly persons charges.
He described McCann as "a good enough gentleman who used bad judgment."
Golden found that some testimony presented by witnesses called by David Mapp, a specially-appointed municipal prosecutor for the case, was unchallenged. That included testimony that a Labrador-retriever mix female dog, Coco, that McCann had cared for for about six years delivered a litter of puppies before dawn in February 2001.
The day of the birth of the puppies, and the size of the litter, were not certain, Golden found. The adult dog and the puppies were inside an Igloo-style doghouse while the temperature was about 22 degrees.
McCann said he did not attempt to bring the dogs inside his house, but advised a member of the family to put some hay inside the doghouse and to make no attempt to touch the puppies.
The day after the birth of the puppies, Kathy McGuire, founder of New Jersey Aid for Animals, a nonprofit animal rescue group, paid McCann $250, according to her testimony, and took the adult dog and between 12 and 15 puppies to the Marlton Animal Hospital in Evesham. Only five of the puppies survived. Veterinarian Dr. Honey Rothberg determined the rest of the litter died of complications from hypothermia.
Rothberg had testified newborn puppies should be kept in an area where temperatures are about 85 degrees. She said the body temperatures of the puppies brought to her were so low they did not register on a thermometer.
The five puppies that survived were adopted, McGuire said, and Coco was spayed before being returned to McCann in April 2007. | Source: Courier Post - March 14, 2008
Update posted on Mar 14, 2008 - 12:40PM |
A former New Jersey councilman is set to finally appear in court to face charges of animal cruelty after leaving his dog outside in the freezing cold as it gave birth last year.
After nearly a year of delays, former Chesilhurst Councilman Robert McCann is due in court on charges he left his pregnant Labrador Retriever Coco chained outside in 15-degree weather as she gave birth to 15 puppies last February.
Of the 15 newborn pups, only five survived. Officials said many of the puppies literally froze to death as they entered the world.
"The five puppies that did survive are healthy and happy today with very, very loving homes," said Kathy McGuire of N.J. Aid for Animals.
Coco has since been placed with another family.
McCann maintains he did nothing wrong in connection with the incident. | Source: CBS 3 - March 7, 2008
Update posted on Mar 7, 2008 - 4:53PM |
| Due to conflicts of interest, the jurisdiction for the animal cruelty case against Chesilhurst councilman Robert McCann has been moved again. McCann will appear in court next on September 11, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. in Gloucester Municipal Court, located at 313 Monmouth St. in Gloucester City. | Source: Chesilhurst Municipal Court
Update posted on Aug 20, 2007 - 1:11PM |
A New Jersey councilman accused of animal neglect shared his frustration outside a Berlin court house on Wednesday.
Chesilhurst Councilman Robert McCann is charged with four counts of animal cruelty for not providing proper shelter for his then pregnant pet lab named Coco. Officials said all but five of Coco's puppies died.
"If you're talking about doing your job, ride through Chesilhurst, there's hundreds of dogs out there, the only house you came to was mine, you ain't been anywhere else," McCann yelled outside out of court.
McCann was barking at CBS 3's camera and SPCA Sgt. Jane Donoghue, even though his attorney advised he not comment on what would have been the start of his animal cruelty trial Wednesday.
McCann, whose trial will now begin next month, is charged with leaving his lab mix female dog chained to a tree outside in frigid February weather as she gave birth to 15 puppies.
"Directly causing the death of nine puppies, leaving them outside in freezing cold weather to be born, and they died of complications due to hypothermia," Donoghue said.
Kathy McGuire, with NJ Aid For Animals, received an anonymous tip phone call and she went to McCann's home to rescue Coco and her pups. McCann initially refused to surrender the dogs until he was offered money.
"We also had to give them $250 dollars to purchase the puppies, they weren't just going to give them to us," McGuire explained.
McCann also allowed McGuire to rent Coco, so she could nurse the puppies for a fee.
When confronted by CBS 3 Reporter Cydney Long and told he was a leader in the community and that people were outraged, McCann replied: "I'm not a leader in the community; my time is up December 31st."
McCann faces fines up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail if he is convicted.
The case has been continued until August 15. | Source: KYW - July 25, 2007
Update posted on Jul 27, 2007 - 5:07AM |
Councilman Robert McCann and his mother, Rita Dickerson, will return to court on July 25 at 9:30 a.m. in Berlin Municipal Court.
The two are charged with nine counts of failure to provide proper shelter for their dog, a Labrador named Coco, and her newborn puppies.
According to the New Jersey SPCA, the puppies were born in frigid, 12 degree weather outside in the Councilman's yard in February.
They were born to a mother dog chained to her dog house.
"They're basically freezing as they're being born, which is just horrible," N.J. SPCA Sgt. Jane Donoghue said at the time.
Nine of the puppies died within days of their birth. Their bodies were kept as evidence.
The veterinarian report blames the puppies' deaths on complications from hypothermia.
When asked why the dog was outside having puppies, Rita Dickerson reportedly responded, "Because that ain't no house dog. She had puppies out there before,"
Kathy McGuire, from New Jersey Aid for Animals, rescued the puppies and the mother dog, Coco, a day after their birth by buying the entire litter.
"I'm angry that a city councilman who represents a borough wouldn't have more common sense than to bring in a pregnant dog," McGuire said. | Source: Berlin Municipal Court
Update posted on Jun 22, 2007 - 3:19PM |
Councilman Robert McCann, and his mother, Rita Dickerson, will appear in court next in June. The two are charged with nine counts of failure to provide proper shelter for their dog, a Labrador named Coco, and her newborn puppies.
McCann, who is reportedly running for mayor, denied the charges, calling them "an attempt at political assassination by my opponents".
According to New Jersey SPCA Sgt. Jane Donoghue, McCann's dog had been left outside in February's "incredibly cold" weather to give birth to 15 puppies in a doghouse. Nine of the 15 puppies died, she said, of complications from hypothermia.
According to local reports, Dickerson said of Coco: "She has never been in the house and has been chained for nine years and has always had her pups outside".
The surviving puppies were adopted by other families, but Coco was reportedly returned to the councilman and his mother.
They will appear in court next on June 20 at 9:00 a.m. in Berlin Municipal Court. | Source: Berlin Municipal Court
Update posted on May 22, 2007 - 6:08PM |
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