One dog dead from starvation, the remains of another dog stuffed in a bag, and a lonely, neglected cat. These grim discoveries, made at a small roadside house, led to charges of animal cruelty this week against the homeowner, Michael Tobin, a 38-year-old Danbury man.
Tobin, of Westville Avenue Extension in Danbury, surrendered to New Milford police on June 13, 2006 after learning an arrest warrant had been issued against him.
According to an affidavit in support of the warrant, a black and brown Rottweiler was found dead at the house in March. He was discovered laying with his eyes and mouth open on a feces-covered concrete floor in a small, enclosed room without food or water.
Police said there were claw marks on the door and walls that indicated the animal had been trying to get out. Although there was a large box of dog biscuits on a nearby shelf, it was beyond the dog's reach.
One police officer called to the scene reported that the odor of urine and feces inside the house was so strong it "took my breath away."
In another room, said the affidavit, a skinny, underfed cat was found without any food. Its only access to water was a toilet bowl on the first floor of the building.
"I can't stand it when people do this kind of thing," Regional Animal Control Officer Audrey McKay said Thursday. "There is no reason to leave animals to starve to death. It's a horrible way to die. If people can't take care of animals they should give them up."
It was McKay who told police about an anonymous tip she received from a neighbor of Tobin's in April 2006 that led to the discovery of the second dead dog.
According to the affidavit, this neighbor's dog wandered onto Tobin's property and returned home with a dog's leg.
"The neighbor went onto the property to investigate where the dog leg came from and found the remains of what he believed was Michael's Akita (dog) in a bag on the property," said the affidavit.
Tobin, who works for AT&T in Danbury, is charged with two counts of cruelty to animals involving the first dog and the cat. He was released on $2,500 bail and is due in court next week.
There are no charges regarding the second dead dog.
Police first went to Tobin's home on West Meetinghouse Road in March after neighbor Jim Martin called New Milford attorney Mary Webster-O'Keefe saying he no longer heard the dogs barking from the house.
At that time, Webster-O'Keefe was overseeing the foreclosure of the house in a case involving Wells Fargo Bank. Town records show Tobin bought the two-bedroom house, built in 1890, for $230,000 in 2004.
Martin, according to the affidavit, said he knew Tobin had three dogs and two cats and was concerned for their well-being because he had not seen Tobin for about a month.
According to the affidavit, when Webster O'Keefe went to the building, she found the front door locked and no response from inside. After looking through the windows and seeing the cat and the dead dog, she called the police.
"The living room was in disarray," Webster-O'Keefe said in her affidavit. "The house had the appearance of someone being in the state of moving but not being finished. The house had foul odor."
An autopsy on the first dead dog at the University of Connecticut was interpreted by Candlewood Animal Hospital as showing the animal was emaciated and that lack of proper food and water could have led to its death.
The same hospital found that the cat was mildly dehydrated but ate voraciously after being treated with fluids.
On Thursday, McKay said the cat was now being sheltered at the New Milford town dog pound and that Tobin had released ownership.
"He's a wonderful cat," said McKay. "He's really come around. All he needs now is a good home." Case UpdatesA 38-year-old Danbury man charged with animal cruelty was denied accelerated rehabilitation at Bantam Superior Court on Friday.
Michael Tobin, of Westville Avenue Extension, was arrested in June and charged with two counts of cruelty to animals after police went to a house he had owned in New Milford.
It was there that they found a dead black and brown Rottweiler, the remains of another dog stuffed in a bag and a skinny, underfed cat without food.
Although Tobin was charged with cruelty involving the first dog and the cat, there were no charges regarding the second dead dog.
An autopsy on the first dead dog at the University of Connecticut was interpreted by Candlewood Animal Hospital as showing the animal was emaciated and that lack of proper food and water could have led to its death.
Tobin, who worked for AT&T in Danbury at the time, applied for accelerated rehabilitation on Friday through his lawyer, Danbury attorney Joseph Dimyan, but Judge Richard Marano turned him down.
"I'm going to look for some jail time," said States Attorney Cindy Palermo.
Palermo said she would be discussing the case and the amount of jail time with Dimyan in October.
Accelerated rehabilitation is a program for individuals who have no previous convictions and is used to avoid a criminal record.
Had Tobin been granted accelerated rehabilitation and completed the program successfully, the animal cruelty charges would likely have been dismissed. | Source: NewsTimesLive - Sept 26, 2006
Update posted on Sep 26, 2006 - 2:06PM |
Michael Tobin faces one year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted of cruelty to animals for allowing at least one dog to die in his filthy New Milford home.
Tobin, 38, who now lives in Danbury, is accused of leaving two dogs and a cat alone in the home at 485 West Meetinghouse Road in New Milford. When a neighbor noticed the dogs stopped barking in March, authorities were summoned. One dog was found dead inside. The other may have died earlier, its carcass stuffed in a bag on the property.
The grisly discoveries drew attention from the Norfolk, Va.-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that wants Tobin to under psychiatric intervention and mandatory counseling.
They want him barred from ever having contact with animals again.
Tobin has been given time to hire an attorney and he is free on $2,500 and a promise to appear in Litchfield's Bantam Court July 19.
Police and the state Department of Agriculture were alerted March 27 to investigate the home, which was being foreclosed by Wells Fargo Bank. Tobin, who bought the property for $230,000 in 2004, hadn't been seen by neighbors in weeks.
When police looked through the windows, they noticed that the house was in disarray. A dog lying on the floor wasn't moving.
When they entered the home, they found a thin rottweiler dog dead on a concrete, feces-coated floor and an overwhelming odor caused by urine and fecal matter. An autopsy confirmed the dog died of starvation, the June 6 arrest warrant for animal cruelty said.
"It appeared the dog had starved to death," the document said. "It appeared to have tried to claw it's way out of the room."
An emaciated cat was found alive in the home.
Tobin's other dog, an Akita, disappeared. A neighbor's dog dragged the remains of a dog's leg out of a bag on Tobin's property. The neighbor contacted Regional Animal Control Officer Audrey McKay.
No charges have been filed in connection with the second dog, which remains the subject of an investigation.
Assistant State's Attorney Cynthia Palermo said Tobin has been given time to hire an attorney. "We are in the fact-gathering phase. I need to find out why he wasn't there." | Source: Republic American - June 27, 2006
Update posted on Jun 28, 2006 - 11:28PM |
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