Saturday, December 31, 2016

Ohio: Ashtabula drunk puppy case goes to court Jan. 25, 2017

OHIO -- Three people who police say gave alcohol to a puppy are scheduled to appear in court next month, according to Municipal Court records.

Tanna Howser, 32; Jennifer Schwab, 36, and Farrell Weger, 39, all of Ashtabula, are charged with cruelty to companion animals, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.


The threesome’s pretrials are set for the same time and day — 2 p.m. Jan. 25 — before Acting Judge David Sheldon. All three pleaded not guilty at their respective arraignments and are free on $1,000 personal recognizance bonds, according to court records.

Weger has an unrelated domestic violence charge pending in Municipal Court. He is scheduled to face the domestic violence charge at 2:15 p.m. Dec. 27 for a pretrial.

 
 

Facebook users alerted police about photos of an intoxicated dog posted on the social media site. Police then went to a home in the 300 block of West 53rd Street on Nov. 28, where they were told the puppy was intentionally given an alcoholic drink, according to the police report.

Schwab told police Weger gave the four-month-old puppy alcoholic drinks. Howser then posted the photo on Facebook with the caption, “lilybug is drunk she pass the (expletive) out on us LOL,” according to police.


The city’s animal control officer, Derrell McCaleb, removed the dog from the home and took it to the Animal Protective League in Kingsville Township, according to his report.

Weger has denied giving the puppy anything more than “three licks” from a bottle of pre-mixed screwdriver, which contains vodka. He said the incident occurred around 10 p.m. Nov. 27 and then he went to bed because he had to get up for work the next day.


He said Schwab, who is now his ex-girlfriend, and Howser, who was their roommate, posted the photo of the puppy on Facebook as “a joke” while he was asleep.

After reviewing the police report, City Solicitor Michael Franklin charged all three with the first-degree misdemeanor, records show.


(Star Beacon - Dec 30, 2016)

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