Case Details

Hunting dog neglect
Vero Beach, FL (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Aug 7, 2006
County: Indian River
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Robert D. Sheltra

Case ID: 9868
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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A 19-year-old man charged with animal cruelty for allowing his hunting dogs to become malnourished and dehydrated in a roofless backyard shelter was sentenced to 60 days in Indian River County Jail.

Robert D. Sheltra, of Vero Beach, was sentenced to the jail term by County Judge Joe Wild on Wednesday in a plea agreement in which adjudication was withheld. The agreement allows Sheltra to petition to seal his record after he completes a one-year probationary sentence.

Sheltra, of the 6600 block of 49th Street, was charged Aug. 7 with nine counts of animal cruelty and nine counts of unlawful confinement of an animal. After his arrest, he agreed to relinquish his nine seized pets to the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.

Assistant State Attorney John Cannizzaro asked Wild to impose the jail term because an animal control officer had issued a warning to Sheltra in May 2005 after 11 dogs at his home were found in poor condition.

"The animal control officer tried to educate him and told him what he needs to do, but the next year the situation was found to be the same," Cannizzaro said. "We can't tolerate that."

Sheltra faced up to one year in jail for each of the 18 counts, but Cannizzaro said he asked for the 60-day sentence because few people receive jail time for neglecting animals.

Defense attorney Andy Metcalf said Sheltra entered the plea agreement because it would enable his adjudication to be withheld.

"Our biggest concern was that he not get convicted, and if he had to go to jail in order to have his adjudication withheld, so be it," Metcalf said. "This makes him eligible to have his record sealed, and it means he was technically not convicted."

Sheltra apologized to the court, saying: "If I had it to do over again, I would do things differently."

As part of the plea deal, Sheltra cannot own dogs until his probation is completed. He also was ordered to pay $1,700 in veterinary costs incurred by the Humane Society and $500 for boarding costs.

"He's a hunter, he uses dogs for hog hunting," Metcalf said. "I don't excuse what he did, but these hunting dogs are not typically kept like you would house pets."

Cannizzaro, who said the animals were kept in a roofless shelter in the summer heat, added that a video taken of the dogs at the Humane Society showed they were malnourished.

"When they put food in their bowls, all you could hear was the sound of the dogs going after the food," Cannizzaro said. "I don't know when they had last been fed."

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References

TCPalm - Oct 27, 2006

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