Case Finally Closed, But Not Necessarily Resolved

Two years ago, a Coastal Pet Rescue foster mom and her neighbors called the police and animal control on a horrible situation in their neighborhood. Two Pit Bulls were chained, no food, water, feces everywhere, and no suitable shelter. The male had open sores in several places and the female was down to just her ribs. Animal Control relinquished the pets to us for protective custody. We provided all the veterinary care and placed them into loving foster homes, both of which chose to adopt their foster pets. The owner was arrested and charged with cruelty, but thanks to a lax justice system, you'd hardly know anything happened.

Over the last year, we've appeared five times in court. Why? Because the judge continued to make exceptions. The last time we were there in November was the first time the guy actually showed up for the appearance. But because he came without an attorney, the judge held the trial over for jury trial and appointed the defendant counsel. So today, we appeared again, hoping that we'd finally have closure. Why we even bothered to show for what we heard, I'll never know.

The defendant entered a plea bargain. Instead of jail time and hefty fines, he will have 24 months probation, 200 hours of community service, and restitution to us for our vet costs. Oh, and he can't have any pets during that 24 months. The Animal Control officer who was on the scene left court furious, and confronted the defense attorney in the hallway. She said everything I wanted to but couldn't muster. I don't feel like we really got justice, and I'm saddened still that the Assistant DA accepted the terms. But then again, none of them were there to see these pets, the actual conditions, the smells.

I ran into another Animal Control officer that I used to work with before we went into the courtroom. His case was from October 2005, and he had made just as many appearances, if not more, as we had. He told me that while the state charges for cruelty are supposed to be harsher, he gets better results in recorder's court with lesser charges of animal neglect. How sad is that. But I can attest that what he says is true; this officer and I were in recorder's court last month for Rusty. The judge reviewed all the materials I presented, the photographs, vet's documentation, our adoption contracts that had been violated. The judge even apologized to me for not being able to issue a harsher penalty, but he did give her the maximum sentence allowed. He made it known that in his courtroom, ignorance is not an acceptable excuse. I watched him issue verdicts several times over before our case was heard. I had become so disenchanted with state judges that I never expected someone on a lower court to be so compassionate and willing to uphold laws. Maybe there is some hope down the line for others.