Dog's head bashed against truck
Lorain, OH (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Mar 31, 2002
County: Lorain
Disposition: Dismissed
Person of Interest: Genaro Ramos
Andrea Scott of Wellington says the Lorain County Chief Deputy Dog Warden bashed a dog's head against his truck after it defecated on his hand.
But Scott's word alone wasn't enough reason to put Genaro Ramos on trial. Instead the prosecution dismissed charges yesterday, because they required locating the stray dog's owner and for lack of physical evidence. He had been charged in Oberlin Municipal Court with injuring an animal.
Just hours after Ramos left her house with the dog, she filed a report with the Wellington police. The complaint and a later letter she wrote about the incident bounced among the Lorain County commissioners, the Sheriff's Department and police, according to Scott and county records. Numerous prosecutors handled the case.
Ten days after Scott's complaint, Julia Hanhauser, a volunteer, picked up the female black lab dubbed "Daisy" from the Lorain County Dog Pound to take it to a vet for a pre-adoption check up.
The dog was in apparent good health and uninjured at that time, according to a letter in the court file that Hanhauser wrote.
Hanhauser said Ramos asked her to write the letter, soon after he learned that charges had been filed against him, she told a reporter this week.
Charges could be refiled if further evidence is discovered to support the claims, Prosecutor Margaret O'Bryon said.
O'Bryon took the case a month ago, six months after the incident.
Scott's complaint is the latest in a string of complaints about the Lorain County Dog Pound and Ramos, who is awaiting a hearing report about six alleged job violations, including allegations that he euthanized a dog that was headed for adoption.
"I do not see anything we are working on right now for Mr. Ramos that he will lose his job," Jim Cordes, Lorain County administrator, said.
However, Ramos could be disciplined for the alleged job violations, separate complaints that have nothing to do with the criminal case.
Ramos, 56, of Lorain, has been a county employee since 1999. He worked in the mail room until being transferred to the kennel several years ago, Cordes said. References« OH State Animal Cruelty Map
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