Over 20 starving dogs found in basement
Akron, OH (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Mar 13, 2003
County: Summit
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Anita Kraft
» Thomas Lee Kraft
Inside a Springfield Township house where a woman known for picking up stray animals sometimes lived, humane officers say they found more than 20 starving dogs shut in a sealed basement.
The shepherd-mix dogs were locked inside a stuffy utility room with no food, water or adequate ventilation when their barks were answered March 13, said Tim Harland, senior humane officer with the Humane Society of Greater Akron. The floor where the dogs were found was covered with animal and human feces, he said.
Anita and Thomas Lee Kraft each face 54 counts of cruelty to animals.
Anita Kraft, 45, and her 43-year-old husband are due in Akron Municipal Court next Tuesday for a hearing before Judge John Holcomb.
Thomas Kraft said he and his wife care about animals.
"For years we've picked up strays and people have dropped them off in our yards, and we've taken them in," he said Monday in a brief phone interview. "We were taking care of them, but things happen. It started out as us trying to do a good thing."
Harland said the Krafts were charged twice individually for each of the 27 animals taken from the house on Ellet Avenue in Springfield Township. In addition to the 23 dogs in the basement, there were two other dogs in the yard and two cats roaming around upstairs.
The charges stem from not providing adequate food and water, keeping the animals in a confined space that lacked proper ventilation and not taking them out for exercise, Harland said.
Anita Kraft has faced animal neglect allegations before. In December, the Humane Society of Greater Akron took her to court, claiming she abandoned two shepherd-mix dogs at the same house. The dogs' pen had not been cleaned of feces, and there was no food -- just frozen water, Harland said.
After Anita Kraft improved the living conditions, the animals were returned, he said.
Those same dogs were among the ones recently removed from the worn, white frame house. Harland said the Krafts allegedly drove stray animals they collected in Medina County to Springfield Township by the truckload.
He said the Krafts don't regularly stay at the Springfield house themselves, and are believed to be residing at a motel in Medina County. Thomas Kraft's business address is listed on court records.
According to Harland, there was human feces in the basement with the dogs because the house had sewage-backup problems.
The yard at the Springfield home is filled with reminders of the dogs, although the animals are now in a shelter. "Beware of Dog" signs are attached to the front gate. Doghouses are scattered around the yard.
Neighbors tipped off humane officers to the situation. Harland said the complaints included one from a woman who believed her dog was locked inside the house with the other barking dogs. Her pet was not among the recovered animals, though.
The dogs and cats were taken to the Humane Society shelter in Boston Township, where they are being kept in a space separate from the other animals.
"Healthwise, the animals appear OK," Harland said.
He said the dogs in particular are having to learn to adjust to living at the shelter. The animals seemed easily frightened at first. "A lot of them didn't appear socialized. They probably had never been on a leash," Harland said. References |
