Dozens of tiny dogs - most weighing no more than 3 pounds - suffered horribly at the hands of a Dansville man and woman arraigned on Oct 7 on animal cruelty charges, officials said.
Bugs crawled on the dogs' skin, infections oozed from their ears and eyes, and their legs fractured easily from brittle bones, said Jamie McAloon Lampman, director of Ingham County Animal Control, which investigated Karen Cochran, 54, and Walter Krause, 62.
Many of the dogs - mostly pugs, Yorkshire terriers and Pomeranians - also suffered from genetic problems. Teeth were loose or missing in many.
"The stench from their mouths was indicative of rotting flesh," said McAloon Lampman, whose office seized 33 dogs from Krause's home last month.
Cochran and Krause were arraigned in Mason District Court on six counts of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said.
The two were released on personal recognizance bonds on the conditions they not contact witnesses in the case nor own or possess animals.
A pretrial date has not been set. No attorneys were listed with the court for the pair.
Dunnings said the pictures of the animals were so horrible that he wanted to file more serious charges. He couldn't, he explained, because the law requires a previous animal cruelty conviction before a person can be charged with felony animal cruelty.
The plight of the dogs came to light when the county received complaints in September from owners whose dogs were bought from Krause's property on Swan Road outside Dansville.
One of the dog owners is Ashleigh Fagoni of Midland. She paid $550 for 16-week-old Madison, a pug. Fagoni said she bought Madison from Cochran but never actually visited the property where the dogs were kept.
"On the ride home, I noticed (Madison) had fleas," Fagoni said. "She was so filthy that when we gave her a bath, the water looked like iced tea."
Two days later, Madison broke her leg. Fagoni said her veterinarian found Madison was underweight and had fragile bones. She also had ear mites and roundworms. "But we love her to death," Fagoni said.
"Our initial visit discovered 95 dogs," McAloon Lampman said.
The animals were living among layers of feces - some of it mixed with their food.
A large number of pregnant dogs were kept in a closed-up garage with no circulation at a time when temperatures exceeded 93 degrees outside, McAloon Lampman said.
When authorities made a second visit to the home, only 45 to 50 dogs were left, and conditions hadn't improved, she said.
After a third visit found no improvement and the number of dogs down to 33, officials took the animals to foster homes and asked the prosecutor to press charges.
"We gave them more than enough time," McAloon Lampman said.
"These poor animals really suffered from nothing but greed. This was all absolutely preventable. Cleanliness doesn't cost anything."
Prosecuting attorney:
The Honorable Stuart Dunnings III
Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney
303 W. Kalamazoo St., 4th Fl.
Lansing, MI 48901 Case UpdatesA Dansville couple, charged with animal cruelty after dozens of flea-ridden, underweight dogs were found at one of their homes, were sentenced December 15, 2005, to two years of probation.
Walter Krause and Karen Cochran agreed in October 2005 to plead no contest to animal cruelty in exchange for not receiving jail time. As part of the sentencing, they are not allowed to have animals, said Linda Maloney, Ingham County's chief assistant prosecutor. The animal dealers had kept as many as 95 dogs on Krause's property - many severely neglected. After an investigation, Ingham County Animal Control officers seized 33 dogs. "The animals were forfeited and are not going back to the individuals," Maloney said.
The plight of the dogs came to light when the county received complaints from people who bought dogs from the property on Swan Road outside Dansville. Animal Control officers found animals living among layers of feces, and several pregnant dogs were kept in a garage with no circulation when outside temperatures exceeded 93 degrees. Many of the dogs had missing teeth, eye and ear infections, and their leg bones fractured easily. When authorities made subsequent visits to the home, conditions hadn't improved.
Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III has described the case as the worst animal abuse he's ever seen. | Source: LSJ News - December 16, 2005
Update posted on Dec 19, 2005 - 7:26PM |
Sentencing in the misdemeanor animal cruelty cases of Karen Cochran and Walter Krause - both of Dansville - was postponed for a week by Judge Thomas Boyd so that more information could be gathered.
The two were to be sentenced this morning in Mason District Court.
Both Cochran and Krause - who were in court today - declined to comment for this story.
Boyd said he wants additional information about the couple's history. He did not elaborate.
Sentencing is now scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Dec. 15.
The two were arraigned in October on six counts of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail, a $1,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.
The cases have been described by Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III as the worst animal abuse case he's ever seen. | Source: Lansing State Journal - Dec 8 2005
Update posted on Dec 8, 2005 - 5:09PM |
Karen Cochran, 54, and Walter Krause, 62, have agreed to plead no contest to charges of animal cruelty in exchange for not receiving jail time in the case, Cochran's attorney said Thursday.
The agreement must be reviewed by a probation officer and accepted by the judge before it becomes final, said the attorney, Sal Gani.
Both Cochran and Krause originally were charged with six counts of animal cruelty each after authorities seized 33 dogs from Krause's house last month.
But Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said he agreed to drop three counts in Cochran's case and four counts in Krause's case.
The maximum penalty for each count is 93 days in jail, a $1,000 fine and 200 hours of community service.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
Sentencing in the case - described by Dunnings as the worst animal abuse case he's ever seen - is scheduled for Dec. 8 in Mason District Court.
"It was extraordinarily difficult for me to look at all the pictures, and I've seen a lot of things in this job," Dunnings said.
He said he's also recommending that Cochran not be allowed to own any personal pets and that she and Krause serve the maximum probation of two years, as well as pay for medical and other care provided by the county to the dogs.
Jamie McAloon Lampman, director of Ingham County Animal Control, said her department has spent almost $6,000 on the 33 dogs seized from Krause's home last month - most of it on medical care.
Lampman said her main concern is that Cochran wants to continue to own personal pets.
"This woman has proven over and over again that she is not capable of caring for a pet, personal or otherwise," Lampman said.
Cochran has faced animal cruelty charges before.
In 1989, she was charged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture with animal malnutrition and lack of veterinary care.
In 1992, she was charged by the department with failing to provide adequate housing, sanitation, supervision, pet control and veterinary care.
Lampman said the 33 dogs the county seized have all been adopted by the foster families with which they were placed.
Many of them still need surgeries and extensive medical care, said Lorna Elliot of Lansing, who initially took in four of the dogs and now has two of them.
"This woman should have the book thrown at her," Elliot said.
"The four that I had had the most unbelievable parasites I've ever seen. They were so badly bred that their kneecaps wouldn't hold in place. It's a very painful condition, like walking around with your kneecap sliding off to the side of your knee."
One dog had seven ulcerations on one eye, Elliot said.
"People need to let the judge know that this is not acceptable," she said. | Source: Lansing State Journal - October 28, 2005
Update posted on Oct 31, 2005 - 11:36AM |
A woman arraigned last week in Mason District Court on six counts of animal cruelty faced similar charges by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1992. Karen Cochran confirmed today for the Lansing State Journal that she faced a $2,500 fine and a 60-day suspension of her animal dealer's license 13 years ago. However, she says she went to court on the charges, and the fine and suspension ultimately were dropped.
The Agriculture Department had charged her with failing to provide animals with adequate housing, sanitation, supervision, pest control and veterinary care in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said he's not sure what effect the past charges will have on his current prosecution of Cochran.
If it means more serious charges can be brought, Dunnings said, he will do so. The current charges - six counts of animal cruelty - are misdemeanors with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Dunnings has said the law requires a previous animal cruelty conviction before a person can be charged with a felony. | Source: Lansing State Journal - Oct 13, 2005
Update posted on Oct 13, 2005 - 5:43PM |
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