Angie Loudermilk of the Morgan County Humane Society said animals that were removed from Martin Chadder�s residence in April have been returned to the owner. In April, about 32 rabbits, 8 dogs, 40 chicks and other fowl were taken from Chadder�s property on S. Grant Street after neighbors complained.
Martinsville�s code enforcement officer, Don Cornelius, obtained a search warrant and found that the animals were not being cared for properly. He removed the animals with the help of Humane Society staff and Martinsville Police Lt. Dan Riffel.
Jim Thomas of the Morgan County Prosecutor�s Office said Chadder was charged May 9 with animal neglect, an A Misdemeanor, which carries the penalty of a fine or possibly jail time.
Riffel said he filed a probable cause affidavit, which was forwarded to the prosecutor�s office on May 5, charging Chadder with harboring a non-immunized dog and abandonment or neglect of vertebrate animal.
Loudermilk said with overcrowded conditions at the shelter and the lack of funding to feed and care for the extra animals, the Humane Society returned the animals to Chadder and educated him on their proper care.
�We�ve been checking on the animals once a day, and they seem to be doing OK. Mr. Chadder seems to be taking good care of them with the education we�ve given him,� Loudermilk said.
Steve Sonnega, Morgan County Prosecutor, said neglect charges were filed for each type of animal taken from the Chadder residence and they are still pending. But no formal decision has yet been made.
Sonnega said the Chadders have stated that at the time the animals were taken, they had a sick child at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The family was going back and forth and trying to tend the animals at the same time.
�Mr. Chadder is still the legal owner, and we will watch to see if he shows improvement in how he cares for his animals over a sustained period of time,� Sonnega said. Case Updates| Posted on Jan 4, 2006 - 10:18PM | | The Martinsville man whose animals were confiscated and returned received six months of probation on his animal cruelty charge in court on August 23, 2005 | | Source: Reporter Times - January 4, 2006 |
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