Michigan: Cruelty charges dismissed against Vickie Lamb; her caretaker Brandon Thyrion has been charged with cruelty

MICHIGAN -- Felony charges of animal abandonment and cruelty have been dismissed by Presque Isle County's 89th District Court against Vickie Lamb of Hawks.

On Jan. 30, authorities seized 38 dogs and two roosters from her residence, where she operates a kennel. Nine dead puppies and one dead adult dog were also removed from the residence.

It is expected the animals will be returned to the owner of the residence.

Presque Isle County Prosecutor Richard Steiger's office indicated the charges were dismissed because after questioning area veterinarians and the animal control officer who vouched for her, it was apparent that Lamb had taken steps to make sure the animals received proper care.

In addition, emails and text messages between her and a caretaker she had hired to attend to the animals also supported this.

Steiger stated in an Alpine News article, “"It became clear that it was the care provider she hired, not Mrs. Lamb, who allowed the neglect to go on," he said. "It was clear that she took every possible action while she was out of state to make sure those animals were cared for."

Lamb did plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to renew her kennel license and must pay restitution to Presque Isle County for the cost of housing the animals since they were seized.

Lamb's dogs have been returned.

Brandon Thyrion should be made to pay Vickie Lamb back for what she had to pay to reclaim her dogs. After all, if he hadn't neglected them to the point where they would be seized, she never would have had to pay the money to reclaim them. 

The caretaker, Brandon M. Thyrion, of Hawks, has been charged with felony animal cruelty or abandonment to 10 or more animals and faces a May 12 court appearance in 53rd Circuit Court after pleading not guilty to the charges yesterday.

Since January, while the case has been in court, many of the dogs were housed at the Cheboygan County Humane Society as Presque Isle County does not have a shelter. Several of the dogs were also housed with foster families because the shelter did not have enough space to house them all.

“We are all disappointed beyond belief,” Cheboygan County Humane Society Director Mary Talaske said. “It was not the outcome we anticipated.”

On Jan. 29, the Presque Isle County Sheriff Department received a complaint of a possible dog neglect at the residence. An investigation was conducted and a search warrant to seize the animals was executed on Jan. 30. The dogs were all thin, dehydrated and in need of rescue, Talaske said.

Since they had been moved to the shelter, each of them have put on between 12 and 15 pounds.

“They are happy and healthy, fat and sassy, and now they have to go back to that place,” Talaske said. Several of the dogs have been treated for chronic ear infections, which stemmed from before they were rescued, as well as having problems with their feet, due to the conditions in which they were staying before rescue.

Talaske and the workers of the shelter knew there was the possibility of having to return the dogs to their owner, but they were hoping that wouldn't be the case.

“It breaks our hearts,” Talaske said. “We would like nothing more than to find a home for them.”

According to Talaske, the shelter was sent a notice of all of the charges being dropped against the owner, they did not receive a phone call. She said they are all deeply disappointed, but have to follow the law and need to give the dogs back to their owner.

“We don't know his reasons, but he dismissed all of the charges,” Talaske said.

Talaske said the owner of the dogs is currently on her way back from Texas and should be to the shelter to pick her dogs up this weekend. Talaske said she would like to thank everyone for their help and support while they housed the dogs. She also thanked those who had helped with fostering the dogs.

Randy Hewitt said his mother-in-law had fostered two of the dogs seized in the case, and she was told Wednesday morning she needed to take the dog back to the vet to be inspected by the sheriff's department. She was told the prosecuting attorney had dropped the charges.

“Nobody understands why,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt said he knows the people who have fostered the animals have grown attached to the animals and don't want to see them go back to their original owner. They are worried about what will happen to the dogs they just put all their time, money and hearts into, only to see them go back.

“They want to know what guarantees are in place to make sure this doesn't happen again,” Hewitt said. “It's a sad thing and nobody understands why the charges were dropped. It doesn't make sense to all of these people. Everybody feels for these dogs and hate to see them go back.”

According to Hewitt, the vet told him they are trying to reach out to the owner of the dogs to see if she would allow some of them to be adopted out by the families who have been fostering them.

(Cheboygan Daily Tribune - Mar 29, 2014)