OKLAHOMA -- In what the undersheriff called "the worst case of animal cruelty I've ever seen," a Vinco woman was placed on five years' probation last week -- conditioned on her not owning any domestic pet and paying restitution for the cost of caring for about 80 dogs and two cats seized from her property southwest of Perkins.
Martuan Louise Middleton, 59, had been found mentally competent to stand trial and spent eight months in jail before she pleaded no contest to animal cruelty and was released on a personal recognizance bond pending her sentencing.
Payne County First Assistant District Attorney Tom Lee had argued in court that that she should be given a five-year prison term for allowing more than 80 animals to live "in unfit conditions."
Her court-appointed attorney, Debra Vincent, told District Judge Donald Worthington, "Martuan Middleton loves animals so much that she can't say no to them. That's how you end up with 84 dogs.
"One person on a limited income couldn't take care of all those animals," the defense lawyer argued in asking the judge to put her on probation.
"I think the court can understand her no contest plea is based on her belief she didn't have the intent to do harm to these animals.
"She was working at WalMart at the time she was arrested," noted the defense lawyer, who added that Middleton had lost everything and was now staying with a friend in Stillwater.
Since Middleton did not have a plea bargain regarding her punishment, the judge held an Aug. 6 sentencing hearing at which the only witness testified about the deplorable conditions in which the animals were found last September.
"This was probably the worst case of animal cruelty I've ever seen. There were 84 dogs -- one dead and another died at OSU. They were in feces and mud a foot deep. They were climbing on top of each other to get out of the mud," Payne County Undersheriff Garry McKinnis testified.
"In the house, there were cockroaches everywhere. It was in such poor condition, the defendant (later) admitted she couldn't live there," the undersheriff testified.
"The animals were seized and taken to the OSU Veterinary Center, all turned over to them," said the undersheriff, adding that all the surviving animals were adopted.
The undersheriff personally took care of 18 of the animals at his residence, he testified.
"The long-haired dogs were matted with open sores. There were cockroaches and eggs on the bodies of the dogs," the undersheriff testified.
"There were dogs in the house including pups with no access to water in cages," the undersheriff testified.
The undersheriff said he had been in law enforcement for 30 years and called it "the worst case of animal abuse I've ever seen."
The judge ordered Middleton to pay restititution for the expenses incurred by the Sheriff's Office in caring for the animals "in an amount to be agreed on by the defense and the District Attorney -- if they fail to agree, the court will have a hearing in 90 days."
After court recessed, the undersheriff said that "OSU donated spay and neuter on all of them. Our actual cost to OSU was about $4,000. All of the animals have been adopted."
Although she was given the opportunity to speak in the 25-minute sentencing hearing, Middleton chose not to make a statement to the judge.
Payne County Sheriff's Deputy Brandon Myers said that he had arrived on the property in Vinco on Sept. 17, 2009, about 20 minutes after a neighbor called the Sheriff's Office.
"He could see a deceased dog in the yard. He wanted us to check on the other dogs as well," commented Myers, who said that he found another dead dog in the yard.
Most of the dogs on the property were full-blood Cocker Spaniels, Dachsunds or Chihuahuas, he said. The animals were very malnourished, the deputy said.
Middleton, who was not on the property, was arrested a week later, court records show.
"The dogs had skin lesions from fecal material and urine, mange and fleas. The cocker spaniels had hair mats so full of feces that they had difficulty walking," Myers said.
"When we got to the OSU Vet Med Clinic, they had 11 veterinarians on standby and 20 students and technicians to start assessing the dogs.
"Most of the dogs had poor body condition, averaging 0 to 3 on a scale from 0 to 9 -- with 9 being normal," Myers said.
Six dogs had to be euthanized -- five due to suffering and one due to aggression he said.
Middleton was previously convicted of animal cruelty in Missouri where she was given a one-year suspended sentence with two years' unsupervised probation for 14 misdemeanor counts in 2002, records show.
Over 200 dogs and a few cats were seized from Middleton when she lived in West Plains, Mo., Christine Portman, Animal Cruelty Task Force Coordinator for the Humane Society of Missouri, said.
In placing Middleton on a five-year suspended sentence for the felony crime of animal cruelty in Payne County, the judge emphasized that a condition of her probation is "to not own any animal or other domestic pet at all -- permanently or temporarily."
HISTORY: In July 2001, deputies and Missouri Department of Agriculture officials seized more than 200 dogs and cats from the woman's unlicensed breeding facility. Some of the animals were missing limbs. Authorities found a dead horse and nine dead dogs at the scene.
(StillwaterNews.Net - Aug 12, 2010)
