Dog's throat cut, left for dead Ashley, OH (US) Incident Date: Saturday, Jun 18, 2005 County: Delaware Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Charles Crist

Case ID: 7442 Classification: Stabbing Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in OH (US) Login to Watch this Case

Cutting the throat of his dog and leaving it for dead in a nearby field drew a 30-day jail sentence for a Morrow County man.

Charles Crist, 21, was found guilty by a Morrow County Municipal Court jury on Feb 22, 2006 on a charge of cruelty to animals. He was sentenced to 30 days in the Morrow County Correctional Facility, states a news release from the county prosecutor's office.

A witness testified that she saw Crist cut his dog's throat with a knife on June 18, 2005, at his residence at 1138 County Road 165 near Ashley. Rose Blesedell, who was visiting a friend at that residence, said Crist was not provoked by the dog and ran into his mobile home after attacking the dog, a young Labrador retriever.

When Blesedell went to the dog's aid and attempted to stop the bleeding by placing a towel around its neck, Crist came out of the house and pulled the dog away from her. She said he indicated that he was going to "finish the dog off." The dog, Xena, got away from him and ran off.

Xena was found by a relative of Crist's the next day still alive and was taken to the Waldo Animal Clinic. Dr. Paul Klinefelter treated the dog in his clinic. After three weeks, the dog had recovered enough to be adopted by a family through Lab Rescue.

Klinefelter told the jury that the dog was a pussycat during his association with it, and appeared to still be trusting of people even after the horrific attack he endured from Crist.

Tom Elkin presented the case for prosecution. Morrow County Prosecutor Charles Howland stated that this was the worst case of animal cruelty that he had prosecuted since a case in the 1990s that involved dogs injured in a dog-fighting ring.

Crist was released and ordered to report to the jail at a later date to serve his sentence. His penalty also included a $150 fine, court costs and restitution of $680 for veterinarian bills. The maximum jail time that could have been imposed by Municipal Court Judge Lee McClelland is 90 days.

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References

Newspaper Network of Central Ohio - Feb 24, 2006

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