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Case #9449 Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Dogs starved, frozen to death
Kent City, MI (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jan 31, 2006
County: Kent
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Dawn Anette Postma
A delivery driver was so disturbed by the condition of an emaciated pit bull, left outside in freezing temperatures without food or water this past winter, that he packed up the dog and brought it to the county animal shelter.
The scene outside the Kent City home got worse: authorities in February found a black German shepherd-mix, its eyes bulging, frozen to the ground. A Dalmatian, half its normal weight and barely alive, was tied to a pole, unable to reach shelter, food or a frozen water dish. A tan German shepherd-mix, running loose, was 20 pounds underweight.
The animals were euthanized because they were too weak to fight a virus.
"I just thought it was a pretty egregious case," Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Josh Kuiper said.
So did Rockford District Judge Steven Servaas, who jailed Dawn Postma after he found her guilty of four misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. He sentenced her to the maximum, 93 days, but said she could be released after 45 days -- the rest suspended if she avoids further trouble. She also will be on probation for two years, and cannot own any animals.
Servaas told Postma's husband, James, that he should sell two horses at the couple's home on Fruit Ridge Avenue NW.
Dawn Postma argued that her husband was the actual owner of the dogs, and that she wasn't responsible, but authorities said she was home every day, while her husband was gone for stretches while driving a truck.
Local animal officials said the jail sentence was rare, but justified.
"This is very obviously a case of animal cruelty. Forty-five days pretty much sends a really clear message this is something to be taken seriously," said Amy Morris, spokeswoman for the Health Department, which oversees the Kent County Animal Shelter.
She said that Matt Pepper, supervisor of animal-control officers, couldn't recall any jail sentences in the last five years for an animal-cruelty case. After a two-day trial, Servaas convicted Postma of four counts of failing to provide an animal adequate care. The poor condition of the dogs didn't happen overnight.
"To me, it was significant because they apparently allegedly forgot or neglected the fact they had a (tied-up) dog out there that just couldn't go any place," Servaas said. "When you talk about a dog, out in February with no shelter, no food, no water, I'd say that's pretty significant."
An animal-control worker who found the dead dog and two still alive reported that the only shelter was a plywood lean-to and a bale of hay, authorities said.
A rental-company worker alerted authorities after he went to the Postmas' house on Feb. 24. He "was so appalled by its conditions" that he took one of the dogs to the animal shelter, said Kuiper, the prosecutor.
"He couldn't leave the dog there," Kuiper said. References« MI State Animal Cruelty Map
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