The Lucas County Pit Crew, a Sylvania Township pit bull rescue; its executive director, Jean Keating of Sylvania, and volunteers Kevin Bauer of Pike Township and Andrea Walters of Swancreek Township are facing misdemeanor charges in Fulton County Western District Court.
Scott Haselman, county prosecutor, confirmed the charges in an email to The Blade but did not provide further comment on the case.
The Pit Crew as an organization, Ms. Keating, and Ms. Walters are each facing a second-degree misdemeanor count of obstructing official business and a minor misdemeanor of violating a rabies quarantine. Mr. Bauer is facing a single charge of violating a rabies quarantine.
Initial hearings are scheduled for Feb. 9.
Ms. Keating declined to comment to The Blade. Her attorney, Kirsten Knight of Germantown, Ohio, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Mr. Bauer also declined to comment. Ms. Walters did not respond to messages from The Blade on Tuesday, though Ms. Keating said she also declined to comment.
A “pit bull” mix named Bosco is at the center of the turmoil. Bosco was adopted Dec. 23 by Gwen and Matt Boughton of Wauseon from the Lucas County Pit Crew.
He is alleged to have bitten Mr. Boughton on Dec. 26 while at his parents’ house for a Christmas gathering, according to a statement the victim gave to Wauseon police. The injury required two stitches.
The Boughtons previously declined to comment, referring all questions to the sheriff’s office.
After Mrs. Boughton contacted Ms. Keating, Ms. Walters picked up Bosco the same day and took him to be quarantined at volunteer Kevin Bauer’s home in Pike Township. The rescue resisted authorities’ attempts to take the dog to the county pound, so the sheriff’s office obtained a warrant Dec. 30 and seized him.
Lt. Max Nofziger, the sheriff’s deputy in charge of the case, said the Boughtons will not face any charges.
The Pit Crew’s board of directors released a short statement on the charges Tuesday afternoon.
“The Lucas County Pit Crew is an all volunteer, nonprofit organization, that is comprised of dedicated individuals who will always stand up and speak out when they feel a dog is being mistreated,” the statement reads. “Nobody within this organization engaged in any criminal conduct and the evidence will speak for itself. Our focus remains on the return of Bosco to our care unharmed.”
Ohio’s dog-bite law requires a mandatory 10-day rabies quarantine, during which the owners cannot transfer ownership of the dog to anyone but a county dog warden or other animal-control authority. The dog must also remain in the county where the bite occurred throughout the quarantine period.
Bosco has been held in quarantine at the county pound since he was seized.
Ms. Keating said she received paperwork over the weekend that the dog warden is seeking to deem Bosco as a dangerous dog under Ohio law, and said the Pit Crew plans to file for a court hearing to contest the designation.
A statement issued Tuesday by the Fulton County commissioners said, “Upon expiration of the quarantine, the dog’s owners will be responsible for the dog.”
Lieutenant Nofziger told The Blade that the county currently considers the Boughtons as Bosco’s owner.
The county intends to legally release the dog to the couple’s care Friday, after which time his fate is up to them.
Ms. Keating has contended the Boughtons transferred ownership of Bosco back to the Pit Crew when they returned him the day of the bite, though the couple did not sign any official paperwork.
The rescue purchased a 2016 Lucas County dog license for him Dec. 27. Bosco had not been licensed previously either in Lucas or Fulton counties.
The rescue also believes that Bosco was not the dog that bit. Ms. Keating said another dog in Mr. Boughton’s parents’ home has a bite history.
A Fulton County Health Department report shows an English bulldog named Rosie owned by Dennis Boughton bit her owner on the finger a year ago.
An online fund-raiser to help the rescue pay for legal fees defending Bosco raised more than $3,000. A Jan. 2 petition on Change.org titled “Release Bosco to the Lucas County Pit Crew Immediately!” has garnered more than 2,600 signatures as of Tuesday evening.
(Toledo Blade - Jan 6, 2016)
Earlier:
lol
ReplyDeleteMy response exactly scurrilous amateur blogger!!!
ReplyDeleteThe don't call them nuts for nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe pit bull breed was bred to fight and kill dogs. And still is. This reminds me of the child in detroit and the brother of a pit bull advocate who was killed by pit bulls. Sad the pit crew has no thought for human life and break the law to further the breed.
ReplyDeleteThe pit bull breed was bred to fight and kill dogs. And still is. This reminds me of the child in detroit and the brother of a pit bull advocate who was killed by pit bulls. Sad the pit crew has no thought for human life and break the law to further the breed.
ReplyDelete