Puppy beaten nearly to death New Philadelphia, OH (US) Incident Date: Wednesday, Jun 9, 2004 County: Tuscarawas Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: John J. Myers, Jr.

Case ID: 4915 Classification: Beating Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in OH (US) Login to Watch this Case

John J. Myers Jr. of New Philadelphia, accused of nearly beating a puppy to death on June 9, 2004, pleaded no contest to animal cruelty and obstructing official business in New Philadelphia Municipal Court on Sept 23, 2004.

Myers was arrested July 3 morning at a mobile home on Moravian Church Rd. SE, south of New Philadelphia. He was arrested by Tuscarawas County sheriff deputies and New Philadelphia police. Myers gave New Philadelphia officers a false name and was released before the officers discovered the lie. 

The 25-year-old Myers of Moravian Church Rd. was found guilty by Magistrate Bill Green and sentenced to 30 days in the county jail for each charge.

Two other charges, drug abuse and drug possession, were dismissed because two felony drug charges are pending against him - illegal manufacturing of drugs and possession of drugs - filed before the puppy beating.

Myers� sentence was part of a plea bargain that included paying a $576 veterinarian bill for the puppy and court fees and pleading no contest.

As part of the sentencing, dog warden Karen Slough described how the puppy looked on June 9 when she arrived at the 5th St. NE, New Philadelphia, residence where the beating occurred.

Slough said the puppy was covered in blood and cowering in a corner.

�It was pretty bad,� she said.

Dr. Dale Duerr of Town and Country Veterinary Clinic said the puppy�s injuries � including a broken jaw � were comparable to the trauma of being hit by a car.

Myers, who is now a college student studying psychology, said he took responsibility for his actions.

�Hitting the dog was very wrong,� he said. �I reacted badly.�

Myers also said he fed and watered the puppy because its owner didn�t.

�It was totally wrong of me to do that, but it wasn�t meant to hurt the animal,� he said.

After the hearing, Slough said the puppy, a 9-month-old Labrador retriever mix, has a good home and took about a month to heal from the injuries.

The puppy had been chained in front of the 5th St. NE residence, and a neighbor called to report the beating. 

Myers also had been on the sheriff�s �most wanted� list.

The 7-month-old Labrador retriever mix is doing well in its third home, according to Dog Warden Karen Slough. It is recovering from a broken jaw and other injuries.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

	The Times-Reporter - Sept 24, 2004
	The Times-Reporter - July 8, 2004

« OH State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.