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| Jacqueline Lockard appears in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly for her sentencing before Judge Jeanne Covert on charges of animal cruelty. She stole a dog "Moose" from her neighbors back yard in Delran last summer. She then sold the dog, took him back to train him, left him in a hot car where he died. |
Superior Court Judge Jeanne T. Covert sentenced Jacqueline Lockard, formerly of Delran and now living in Philadelphia, to serve two years of probation and complete 150 hours of community service during a hearing at the Burlington County Courthouse in Mount Holly on Friday.
Covert also ordered the 24-year-old high school graduate to pay more than $1,500 in restitution and an additional $500 in fines as part of a negotiated plea deal on charges of theft and animal cruelty involving Moose and one of her own pets.
The charges against Lockard, who now runs the Pennsylvania-based Communicating Canines Dog Training, according to her business website, sparked outrage last year and inspired Moose’s Law, legislation that is awaiting a vote in the New Jersey Senate.
“I hate her for what she did to me, to my family, and especially what she did to Moose. What a needless, senseless cruel death he died. He was an amazing dog. He would look you in the eye and want to talk to you,” said Sissy Workman, Moose's owner, during her victim-impact statement. “He died in your hands. … You killed my dog.”
Struggling to speak through tears, Workman said Moose's death could have been avoided if Lockard had only returned the animal after he got out of the yard. His owners and a large search party organized immediately to look for him had approached the defendant within 15 minutes of Moose's disappearance, Workman told the judge.
She believed Moose would have run to Lockard’s house because she had two dogs with whom he would be “looking to play.”
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| Sissy Workman, shows a missing poster of her dog "Moose", during the sentencing of Jacqueline Lockard onj animal cruelty charges in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly before Judge Jeanne Covert. |
“She knew where he belonged, but she lied and was hiding him in her house,” Workman said as some of her supporters, including family, friends and members of the Burlington County SPCA, sat in the court gallery with tears in their eyes.
In February, Lockard admitted in court that she came into possession of Moose not knowing who his owners were and sold him to a Pennsylvania family. That family subsequently returned the dog for training, she acknowledged.
Lockard also admitted that she “did not return” the animal when she learned he belonged to her neighbors. On July 13, she left Moose in her hot vehicle and acknowledged that her actions subjected the large dog to “inhumane conditions.”
Lockard further admitted that two weeks later she left her own dog, Rico, outside in the heat without water. She returned Moose to his owners after he died, concocting a story to cover up her involvement in his month long disappearance and death, police said.
Workman said that Lockard told her she found Moose dead while jogging nearby, but that the story made no sense and the search party had looked in that area multiple times. Furthermore, Moose showed no signs of being outside wandering when Workman inspected his body when it was returned to her. She told the judge the animal was much thinner.
"She should have known better," Workman said.
Family members ultimately got to say goodbye, but Workman has very little peace.
“I told him that I was sorry that I didn’t find him and that I was sorry for not protecting him,” she said, sobbing.
Moose was buried in the Workmans’ backyard with their other dogs, who lived to be 13 and 14 years old.
Since Moose’s story grabbed headlines around the region, Workman said she has received calls and letters from others who had trouble with Lockard.
“It’s a horrible tragedy,” Lockard said in court. “I’m sorry everyone’s been hurt by this. I’m sorry. That’s all I can really say.”
She has been described by police as a novice dog rescuer and trainer. On her websites, communicatingcanines.com and abnerspress.com, she describes herself as a behavioral specialist with professional experience. In court, she said she was a high school graduate, but made no mention of any additional schooling or training.
Attorney Bonnie Geller-Gorman said her client was not “a monster or like Michael Vick,” but a young woman who exercised “extremely poor judgment.”
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| Monster like Michael Vick? |
“She is not an evil person,” the public defender said.
Covert said while Lockard had accepted responsibility through her plea, she hoped the defendant understood the consequences of her actions and the pain it caused. She said Workman should not be feeling guilty.
“I hope you have some understanding about how this came to pass and who is really ultimately responsible,” the judge said to the defendant.
Moose’s Law, sponsored by Assemblymen Troy Singleton, D-7th of Palmyra; Herb Conaway, D-7th of Delanco; and John Burzichelli, D-3rd of Paulsboro, was approved by the Assembly in March.
It would bar people convicted of animal cruelty in any state from working in animal care jobs, such as veterinarian offices, dog training centers, rescue groups, kennels or groomers, in New Jersey. It also would prohibit people who have been convicted of animal cruelty from owning a pet.
The Senate has yet to vote on the bill.
(Phillyburbs.com - April 20, 2013)
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