Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Numerous animals removed from county shelter

Numerous animals removed from county shelter
Adrian, MI (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Jan 4, 2006
County: Lenawee
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available

Abuser/Suspect: Loretta Lee Fox

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 6988

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Suspect was in animal welfare field

Dogs in sad shape were confiscated from a facility in Michigan that was supposed to care for strays.

The Lenawee County sheriff's department is recommending criminal charges against an Adrian woman the county paid to care for stray animals. The sheriff says this is the worst dog cruelty case he's seen during his time in office.

Sheriff Larry Richardson says they found "one dog that was dead and we thought a little puppy was dead, but he got up and walked around, barely" when one of his deputies was taking a stray dog to be cared for at the Animal Inn. Richardson says they made unnannounced visits to the facility after several complaints. Richardson says, "The animals didn't have any food or water. There was feces and urine all over the place. Indications were that she had not been out there in several days."

Sheriff Richardson says his department has started the process of filing 17 animal cruelty charges against Loretta Fox who runs the Animal Inn. He says the county paid her thousands of dollars to care for stray and lost animals. The sheriff says the woman claims she was ill and unable to care for the animals. The animals were confiscated and they are being cared for at the Lenawee humane society. Ten dogs were brought in but sources tell us one dog and a puppy had to be euthanized because they were so emaciated they could not stand up.

Prosecutors could issue a warrant for the owner's arrest sometime this week. As for the animals, once they're nursed back to health, we're told they'll be up for adoption. Check the Lenawee Humane Society website for that information.

Case Updates

Guilty pleas to three of 17 animal cruelty charges filed against Animal Inn operator Loretta Lee Fox canceled a jury trial scheduled for Thursday in Lenawee County District Court.

Fox remains free on personal recognizance pending a sentencing scheduled for May 18 by Judge Natalia M. Koselka. She faces a maximum 90-day jail term.

The kennel and shelter Fox operated at her home on Laberdee Road in Raisin Township was shut down in January when Lenawee County sheriff's deputies reported finding dogs were left without food and water in pens that were not cleaned. Seventeen dogs were in the facility at the time, including 10 stray dogs that had been brought in by sheriff's deputies.

One dog at the Animal Inn was found dead in its pen, deputies reported, and another was euthanized after being removed.

The Animal Inn is one of three facilities in the county contracted to provide shelter service for the sheriff's department.

The Lenawee Humane Society shelter in Adrian has filled the gap left by the closing of the Animal Inn. Director Bonnie Tancredi said the shelter is now receiving eight to 10 more dogs a week than it had in the past. Caring for the additional dogs has not been a problem, she said.

�It's doing well,� Tancredi said. �We're able to place a lot of the animals with their owners.�

The Humane Society's process of advertising strays brought to the shelter is having a good success rate in locating owners who have lost their pets, she said.

Fox, 40, was arraigned on misdemeanor cruelty charges on Jan. 24. A not guilty plea was entered on Feb. 16 and a two-day jury trial was scheduled for this week. A plea agreement was reached last week and put on the court record on Thursday.

The future of the Animal Inn is unclear.

Fox's license to operate a private kennel to board animals for pet owners is issued by the county government. The license to operate a shelter for stray animals, however, is issued by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.

Al Rodriguez of the department's Animal Industry Division said last month that an informal hearing would be scheduled if there is a criminal conviction in the case. Fox could face a fine, a suspension or loss of her state shelter license if violations are confirmed, he said.

Source: Lenawee Connection - April 5, 2006
Update posted on Apr 7, 2006 - 2:27PM

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The operator of the Animal Inn dog kennel and shelter in Raisin Township asked for a jury trial Thursday in Lenawee County District Court where she faces 17 counts of animal cruelty.

A two-day trial was set for April 6 and 7 for Loretta Lee Fox, 40, of Adrian. She was charged with the misdemeanor cruelty counts last month after Lenawee County sheriff's deputies reported finding 17 dogs at the facility kept in dirty pens without food and water. One dog was found dead in the kennel and another was euthanized shortly after being removed by deputies.

The Animal Inn was one of three facilities that provided shelter services for stray dogs under contract with the county government.

Source: Lenawee Connection - Feb 20, 2006
Update posted on Mar 6, 2006 - 3:53PM

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The owner of the Animal Inn shelter in Raisin Township was arraigned Tuesday in Lenawee County District Court on 17 counts of animal neglect for allegedly failing to care for dogs at the facility.

Loretta Lee Fox, 40, pleaded not guilty to the charges and was given a court-appointed attorney. A pretrial hearing was set for Feb. 16 and her personal recognizance bond was continued by Judge Natalia M. Koselka. The charges carry a maximum 93-day jail term.

The Animal Inn is one of three shelters used by the Lenawee County Sheriff's Department to house stray dogs.

Sheriff's deputies started an investigation of the Animal Inn earlier this month after finding dogs kept in dirty cages without food and water. One of 10 stray dogs taken to the shelter by the sheriff's department was found dead on Jan. 9. Deputies removed the other nine that day. One was euthanized shortly afterward.

According sheriff's department reports, Fox told deputies she was unable to keep up with her work in the kennel because she had been ill.

The 17 animal cruelty counts she is charged with involve the strays brought to the kennel by deputies, three dogs owned by Fox and four that were being boarded at the Animal Inn by private owners.

Dogs removed by sheriff's deputies were placed in the Lenawee Humane Society Animal Shelter in Adrian.

Sheriff Larry Richardson said stray dogs collected by police are all being housed at the Lenawee Humane Society shelter and at the Addison Veterinary Clinic near Addison. Richardson said no decisions have been made yet on finding a new shelter service. The Michigan Department of Agriculture has not responded to inquiries about the status of the Animal Inn's license.

Source: Daily Telegram - Jan 25, 2006
Update posted on Jan 25, 2006 - 3:10PM

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13ABC News - January 18, 2006

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Numerous animals removed from county shelterAdrian, MI (US)

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Numerous animals removed from county shelter
Adrian, MI (US)