Kymmberlie Fullagar pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ontario County Court to aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony, and misdemeanor charges of tampering with physical evidence, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child and failure to provide proper sustenance to an animal, the latter a violation of state agriculture law.
Ontario County Sheriff’s Office deputies had arrested Fullagar and her boyfriend, Shawn Fenner, in March 2013 following a joint investigation involving the county Humane Society and Child Protective Services.
Ontario County Assistant District Attorney Jason MacBride said the investigation started after a CPS worker went to Fullagar’s mobile home because her 15-year-old daughter wasn’t going to school. The worker saw the emaciated dog and returned the next day with Deputy Bill Martin, a Humane Society investigator.
In the meantime, Fullagar and Fenner had taken the dog to a friend’s home. MacBride said text messages showed Fullagar and Fenner wanted the friend to keep the dog for a day or two in case the CPS worker came back.
The Humane Society eventually took the dog from the friend’s home and provided veterinary care. The animal was cared for at the society’s Happy Tails shelter on County Road 48 in Hopewell and has since been adopted.
“It took about four months for the dog to be nursed back to full health,” said MacBride, noting there were other pets in the mobile home that were cared for properly.
MacBride said the friend who watched the dog knew the animal was in poor shape and planned to call animal control officers. However, they returned before that call was made.
The dog was being kept in a metal crate at Fullagar’s home that was covered with blankets and clothes. It was full of feces and urine.
“I can’t imagine kids living in that kind of environment,” said MacBride, noting there were three children living there at the time — and two of them slept in the room where the dog was being kept.
Fenner previously pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals and endangering the welfare of a child. He was sentenced to 120 days in jail and five years of probation, and ordered to pay restitution of about $1,000 to the Humane Society.
Judge Craig Doran will sentence Fullagar March 9. MacBride said she likely will receive a sentence similar to Fenner’s, which could include straight jail time or weekends behind bars. In addition, she will be ordered to pay about $1,000 in restitution, the remainder of the Humane Society’s cost to care for the animal.
As part of the guilty pleas, Fullagar and Fenner are not allowed to own pets again, and there are court orders of protection to make sure Fullagar’s children are exposed to no offensive conduct in the future.
(Finger Lakes Times - Jan 10, 2015)
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