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Case ID: 17913
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (pit-bull)
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Attorneys/Judges
Prosecutor(s): Michael Mullin
Defense(s): William Olean
Judge(s): David S. Whitacre


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Case #17913 Rating: 2.0 out of 5



Dogs and puppies neglected
Worthington, WV (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 9, 2010
County: Marion

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendants/Suspects:
» Virginia F. Poling
» Michael E. Poling

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Most of the dogs police seized from a city home in October have been adopted, but their former owners face criminal charges of neglect.

Virginia F. Poling, 36, of 600 Lakeview Drive, Cross Junction, and Michael E. Poling, 47, of David Loy Drive, Augusta, W.Va., appeared for arraignment hearings in Winchester General District Court on Monday.

Judge Amy Tisinger scheduled their adjudication hearings for April 20.

Authorities have charged each defendant with eight counts of animal cruelty by deprivation, three counts of failing to show proof of rabies vaccinations and three counts of not paying the city dog license fee.

Police seized six puppies and two adult dogs from the Poling's former home at 536 Hillman Drive on Oct. 9, according to a criminal complaint filed in the court.

"[A] veterinary evaluation supported animal cruelty on each of the eight dogs confirming emaciation, dehydration, heavy parasitism and lack of proper nutrition," states the complaint filed by Winchester Police Department animal control officer Nancy Mellott.

Tisinger awarded custody of the eight dogs to the Winchester chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after a hearing held in the court Oct. 18. The SPCA also received a ninth dog who, according to Mellott, did not show signs of neglect.

The charges of failing to show proof of rabies vaccinations and city dog licenses were related to the adult canines named Shane, Jazzy and Baby, according to the court documents.

A conviction of the class 1 misdemeanor of animal cruelty carries a penalty of up to 12 months in jail.

The SPCA found homes for all the puppies and one of three adult dogs the agency received from the residence, Director Will Wood said Tuesday. The SPCA recently found a home for Shane, according to Wood. Baby, who "was in really bad shape when we got her," appeared malnourished, with her ribs showing, Wood recalled. Baby now lives in a foster home to learn better how to socialize with people and other animals, he said.

"She's now put all the weight back on," Wood said. "We're starting to work to try to find the right home for her, but her health is back to where it should be."

Baby tends to shy away from people, according to Wood.

"It's hard to know exactly what transpired before she came here," Wood said.

It took a few weeks for workers at the SPCA to nurse the puppies and adults back to health, according to Wood.

Jazzy "didn't have the kind of social issues that Baby had," but remains with the SPCA, Wood said.

Neither did Shane.

"He's always an outgoing, friendly dog so he got adopted," Wood said. "The puppies were all quickly adopted."


Case Updates

A former city woman faces serving two months in jail for neglecting two pit bulls and a litter of puppies in October.

Judge David S. Whitacre found Virginia F. Poling, 36, formerly of 536 Hillman Drive, guilty in Winchester General District Court on Wednesday of committing seven counts of cruelty to animals.

Whitacre sentenced her to 12 months in jail, with 11 months suspended, for one count involving an adult pit bull named Jazzy. She received the same term for neglecting an adult pit bull named Baby, and the judge ordered both sentences to run consecutively. She received 12-month terms, all suspended, for her remaining five counts involving the puppies.

The judge noted photos of the puppies' living conditions showed they lived in dirt and their own feces.

Authorities had charged Mrs. Poling and her husband, Michael E. Poling, 47, of Augusta, W.Va., with seven counts of cruelty to animals as well as failing to have licenses or proof of rabies vaccinations for each of three adult dogs.

Mrs. Poling testified that her husband left the home in late September and returned only once to drop off a bag of dog food. She said she had no involvement in the breeding of the pit bulls handled by her husband.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Michael Mullin asked the court to order the defendant to serve six months of a 12-month jail term for the crimes.

"There is no way anyone can look at an animal the way they are and say they were anything short of starving," Mullin said.

Mrs. Poling's attorney, William Olean, argued his client should receive a sentence no greater than the court gave her husband because he "left the house ... abandoned his family, abandoned the dogs."

"He's the culpable party here," Olean argued.

Catherine Reiss, a local veterinarian who examined the dogs, testified some of the puppies appeared pot-bellied with distended abdomens, a sign of worms, plus they appeared emaciated and suffered from hypothermia. Some had sores on their bodies. The puppies, she testified, were weaned from their mother too early and adult dog food was not appropriate for the animals.

Nancy Mellot, animal control officer for the Winchester Police Department, who responded to the call in October, said one adult dog is in foster care but the remaining animals have been placed in permanent homes. All had improved greatly while under the care of the SPCA, she said.

Before Mrs. Poling's trial, her husband pleaded guilty to his charges and received suspended jail time under an agreement between the commonwealth and his attorney. Poling also agreed to testify against his wife for the prosecution.

Poling admitted he did not leave instructions on how to care for the dogs, but his wife and others in the home knew the animals needed feeding and watering. He pleaded his Fifth Amendment right when Olean asked if he had told his stepdaughter "to say something that wasn't true" when she testified at trial.

Mrs. Poling testified that her husband handled the buying and breeding of the pit bulls and she had no involvement. Sometime after he left, she said she told him the dogs "were looking skinny." Since he did nothing, she said she tried to give the animals away.

Olean filed his notice of appeal immediately following the trial. His client did not wish to appeal two convictions each for the lack of rabies vaccinations and licenses for the dogs.

Whitacre ordered Mrs. Poling to have no animals for five years following her jail time, a prohibition he extended as a condition of her bond pending the appeal. She and Poling must pay more than $1,800 in restitution to the SPCA.

City Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Mullin told the court that he agreed to the deal because he believes Virginia Poling was more culpable in her treatment of the dogs than her husband.

According to testimony from the Polings Wednesday, Michael Poling had acquired pit bulls several years ago to breed as a hobby. The puppies were the children of Baby, the most emaciated of the nine dogs eventually seized by city animal control officers.

Virginia Poling told the court that she had little to do with the dogs care.

"Michael does all that," she said.

In late September, however, he moved out of the home he shared with Virginia and her children - leaving the dogs behind.

Though he testified that the dogs were in good condition when he left and that he was unaware of their deterioration, he also admitted that he had never taken any of the animals to see a veterinarian.

According to Michael Poling, after he left he did not care for the dogs at all, other than by dropping off a 40-pound bag of adult dog food.

In early October, police received an anonymous tip that the dogs were starving. When animal control officers went to the house to examine them, they found three enclosures in the yard - one for Jazzy, one for Baby and one containing all six puppies.

A ninth dog - in better condition - was inside the home.

According to animal control, all the outdoor enclosures were visibly filled with feces, and there was apparent fecal matter in the animals' food and water dishes.

After seeing the conditions, Mellott testified that she seized all of the dogs and took them to an emergency veterinarian office.

Though Virginia Poling and her daughter testified that they fed the dogs twice a day after her husband left, the veterinarians who treated them testified that Baby was so starved that her body had begun consuming muscle, and that her bones were visible through her skin.

Jazzy was also underfed, and most of the puppies were suffering from dehydration and hypothermia, with distended bellies from malnutrition.

Additionally, all of the animals were suffering from infestations of hookworm, whipworm and roundworm - which likely contributed to their malnutrition.

At the hearing, Olien argued that his client was not responsible for the dogs because her husband had been the one to oversee their care.

"Michael Poling walked away and abandoned the dogs and everybody," he said.

Virginia Poling, however, testified that she had told her husband after he left that the dogs were getting skinny and needed to be fed.

Whitacre ruled that because the dogs were in her custody, and she knew that they were not in good health, she was guilty of all eight counts of animal cruelty.

However, he found her not guilty of two vaccination charges and two license charges.

She was sentenced to eight years in jail, with all but two months suspended, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, with $500 suspended. After being released, she would have had to serve five years of probation.

Since she has filed an appeal, however, the sentence will not apply - as an entirely new proceeding will be held in Circuit Court.

Michael Poling was sentenced to three years in jail with the entire sentence suspended as long as he performs 100 hours of community service, at least 50 of which must further the care of animals. He must also pay a $330 fine, and will serve five years of probation, during which he is not allowed to own animals.

The couple must also pay $1804.81 in restitution, which will go to the Winchester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which cared for the dogs after they were seized.

According to Mellott, Baby is in foster care, and all of the other dogs have been placed in permanent homes.
Source: nvdaily.com - May 19, 2011
Update posted on May 19, 2011 - 4:10PM 

References

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