var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime() Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Hoarding - dozens of animals found neglected - New Washington, OH (US)
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Case ID: 7975
Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull)
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Hoarding - dozens of animals found neglected
New Washington, OH (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2005
County: Crawford

Disposition: Acquitted

Person of Interest: Brenda J Studer

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A trial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2006 in Ashland Municipal Court for a New Washington woman officials say kept dozens of animals -- some of them from Richland County -- in less than acceptable conditions in locations around Ashland County. The Ashland Law Director's office filed a first-degree misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals against Brenda Studer, 47, of 414 Jeffrey Road, last fall, following an investigation by Ashland County Humane Society investigator William Buchanan.

The complaint alleges that Studer deprived several animals, specifically cats and dogs, of sustenance or impounded or confined the animals without sufficient quantities of food and water.
 
According to assistant prosecutor David Hunter, the alleged cruelty happened in 2005, between June and September. Hunter declined to say how many animals were involved and where they were found because the case is pending. Humane Society president Brenda Kauffman said the organization received reports from a number of people about the way Studer was keeping animals. An investigation turned up more than 70, mostly dogs and a large colony of cats, at three Amish farms west of Ashland. Many of the animals had health problems, according to Kauffman, although none were "extreme." "He (Buchanan) found very filthy conditions and the environment was poor," she said.

Kauffman said officials believe Studer was renting the facilities and emphasized the farms were "pretty clean" and that a number of complaints came from Amish. She said the society is caring for most of the animals on the farms where they were found. Some were taken into foster care. Others, through a program at the Mansfield Correctional Institution, are working with inmates to ready them for adoption. Kauffman said the organization received complaints about Studer two other times but was unable to "catch up" with her.

Studer's attorney in the current case, John Good of Ashland, said it was "not appropriate" for him to comment on the case before trial. Studer faces a maximum six-months in jail, a $1,000 fine and the loss of the animals. Hunter said Studer was not charged under a section of Ohio law that would have allowed a stiffer sentence for someone with a previous animal cruelty conviction.

Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan and Lenny Presinger of the Richland County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center have been subpoenaed to testify.


Case Updates

A New Washington woman was found innocent Friday of animal cruelty charges after a three-day trial.

Brenda Studer admitted Thursday that conditions at several farms west of Ashland where she kept rescued dogs "were not ideal."

She also told a Municipal Court jury they would not have been that way if county Humane Society officials had left her alone and not threatened to seize the animals.

Studer, 47, took the witness stand in her own defense in her retrial on a first-degree misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty. She was accused of housing 72 dogs and nearly two-dozen cats without proper food or water last fall after a Humane Society investigation.

Studer told the jury she did not intend to have that many animals in one place, but was forced to move some from another rural Ashland farm because she was "being harassed" by the Humane Society and didn't want them seized.

"I was afraid they were going to be killed," she said, explaining she was going to take 18 dogs to rescue groups in Cleveland and Columbus the day before a Sept. 1 raid.

Studer testified she began keeping animals in Ashland County for a friend who sold a farm in 2003, then later used the rented facilities to temporarily house more dogs while working with the Richland County dog shelter in 2005 to place them with rescue groups. She said she took mostly the sickest dogs that were "marked for death."

Richland County dog warden Dave Jordan said Studer was provided space and a telephone at the shelter, given a kennel license and occasional dog food and allowed to take dogs at lower rescue fees to help the facility reduce the number of dogs euthanized.

He estimated that she rescued 5 to 10 dogs a week for four months until he learned of the Ashland County charges.

Although Studer did not tell him where her kennel was located, Jordan said officials tried to verify that the dogs were delivered to rescue groups. "In good faith, we assumed she was taking them to rescue groups and most of the time, when we checked on her, she had done that," he said.

Representatives of several rescue groups verified that Studer brought them dogs regularly.

The jury also heard testimony from Studer and others that she was able to afford food on a restaurant server's wages because she is living with her parents and obtained donations from dog food companies, plus a $3,000 donation from a local individual.

The main witness before the prosecution rested was Humane Society investigator William Buchanan, who told about poor conditions at all three locations where Studer had kept dogs and cats.

He described the building that was raided as "extremely dirty" with feces and straw eight-inches deep and boarded windows that prohibited proper ventilation.

Dr. Donald Kaeser, a local veterinarian who provides service for the Humane Society, testified that he treated more than a dozen of Studer's dogs for internal parasites and other problems, saw many thin dogs and felt the quality of life for the dogs was "not good at all."

Ashland County dog warden Tom Kosht said that, while conditions were bad, he's seen worse and would have acted on his own to remove the dogs if he had thought they were in imminent danger.
Source: Newspaper Network of Ohio - June 10, 2006
Update posted on Jun 14, 2006 - 12:12AM 
A new trial date of June 6 has been set for a New Washington woman charged with cruelty to animals for allegedly harboring around 70 dogs and cats in less than acceptable conditions at three locations around Ashland County.

Ashland Municipal Court Judge Jacob Fridline on Thursday also scheduled an 8:30 a.m. April 13 hearing to consider several anticipated motions by the attorney for Brenda Studer, including one for a change of venue and another to be reimbursed for expenses from her first trial earlier in the week.

Studer 47, of 414 Jeffrey Road, was on trial Wednesday on one first degree misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals when Fridline declared a mistrial after Char Dowiatt, who was testifying about Studer's reaction to removing the animals from a neighboring Amish farm, mentioned the defendant's previous convictions.

The statement violated an order Judge Fridline issued just before the trial in response to a defense motion to require the state to instruct potential witnesses against talking about Studer's record.
Fridline determined the case should be heard again after defense attorney John Good of Ashland admitted the mistrial was the result of Dowiatt's conduct, not deliberate action by the prosecutor or an agent for the state, which is the standard for dismissing charges following a mistrial.

Good plans to file a motion to have Dowiak pay for his client's legal expenses because she violated the judge's order. He said Studer spent $400 for process servers, subpoenas, witness fees and court costs and incurred $1,200 in legal fees.

Good also plans to file a motion asking Fridline to limit testimony regarding the condition of the kennels and buildings where the dogs and cats were kept. Witnesses on Wednesday told of seeing inches-deep feces and dirty food bowls in the kennels and dead cats in one location.

Good said evidence on the conditions should be restricted because Studer is charged under a section of Ohio law that deals only with providing food and water.

On the venue issue, Good questioned whether officials could pick local jurors who have not read newspaper accounts about the case. Fridline noted there is a high standard for granting a move.
Source: The News-Journal - April 7, 2006
Update posted on Apr 7, 2006 - 10:53AM 

References

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