Lenawee County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Noe also ordered today that Deborah L. Hosler, 47, of Petersburg, complete 200 hours of community service and banned her from owning, possessing, or caring for any animals during her five years of probation.
Debbie Hosler pleaded guilty May 3 to abandonment of animals, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
But like 99.9% of animal cruelty cases, they never get the maximum that we're always told. So even though Hosler was facing "up to four years in prison" she got five years probation. She didn't even get any jail time. Boo.
According to the Toledo Blade, Hosler told the court she was unable to care for the dogs any longer and, not wanting to see them taken and euthanized, loaded them up into her vehicle and drove out to Lenawee County, Michigan, where she threw them all out of her vehicle and drove off, abandoning them to die.
Because there were so many, and they were large dogs, she likely had to make several trips back and forth from her house to the dumping site -- which would have given her plenty of time to think about what she had done to these poor dogs and stop. She could have gone back and caught the dogs she'd dumped in the first trip and brought them back home and then contacted the shelter or Husky breeders/rescues for help. But she didn't.
Now she claims she's "taking responsibility" but she's not. She is only admitting to what we already knew -- SHE ABANDONED THESE DOGS TO DIE.
The dogs began appearing in the Adrian area alone and in small groups Jan. 4, primarily in the area of Academy Road east of Adrian. The animal control division of the sheriff’s department began investigating and news of the huskies spread rapidly on social media.
In 2006, Hosler was ticketed for owning an unlicensed dog, a violation she neglected to take care of until a Monroe County bench warrant was issued in 2008.
Five years later, Hosler’s name came up again at Monroe County Animal Control, when an anonymous tip led investigators to find more than 20 dogs kept in unsanitary outdoor kennels.
“The outside kennels were emitting a strong odor, and it was visible that the kennels had not been cleaned for a while,” a Monroe County Animal Control report detailed.
In March 2016, one of Hosler’s mastiffs escaped her facility and ran free for months before a dedicated shelter worker was able to catch him. But Hosler refused to take the dog back, and it was later adopted out of the Devoted Barn rescue in Frenchtown Township.
In June 2016, four of Ms. Hosler’s Huskies got loose and attacked chickens owned by Summerfield Township Clerk Trudy Goodin, killing five of the birds and injuring two. It was this incident that brought Ms. Hosler’s illegal operation to the township’s attention, resulting in the revocation of her Monroe County kennel license. She is facing four misdemeanor charges of dogs running loose for that incident, and could face additional charges of unlicensed dogs, Sergeant Berman said.
One of the dogs involved in the attack on chickens was noted as being thin with ribs and spine showing. A follow-up inspection at Ms. Hosler’s kennel in July showed the dogs to be in decent shape overall, though some had diarrhea and there was old feces in some of the kennels.
Ms. Hosler reportedly told the officer she was going to sell all but five of her dogs and move out of Monroe County.
The department also has a dog bite report from August, 2016, showing one of Ms. Hosler’s huskies bit her on the arm as she was trying to break up a fight between dogs.
The final activity, for which Sergeant Berman said Ms. Hosler could face an additional misdemeanor charge in Monroe County, is related to the sale of a husky puppy after the revocation of her kennel license.
Ryan Evola filed a complaint with the department in September about the condition of Ms. Hosler’s facility, and said the puppy he purchased earlier that month for $850 was sick.
Mr. Evola’s letter to the county alleged unsanitary conditions inside Ms. Hosler’s home, including a strong urine smell and feces. He said his puppy was treated for roundworms, fleas, coccidia, lice, and giardia.
A visit by an animal control officer found three huskies and a mastiff inside the home, and all were healthy. The report did not indicate any other dogs were on the property, but noted Ms. Hosler told the officer she had given the huskies away.
Who is this animal control officer? Did s/he go back to the kennels? Did s/he hear any barking? Why would they "not indicate any other dogs were on the property" unless s/he only went to the front door and were shown her personal dogs and then simply drove away. This officer needs to be investigated.
None of the 15 dogs Hosler abandoned earlier this year were licensed in Monroe County. Under the recommendations of the felony sentencing, the former breeder has forfeited the 15 huskies, as well as her own dogs, five huskies and a mastiff.
She was arrested after the dogs were found running loose in the area of Academy Road and North Wilmoth Highway east of Adrian.
She admitted to law enforcement that she dumped the animals Jan. 4 because she could no longer afford to care for the dogs and was afraid they would be seized and destroyed.
Yet she had no concern of people's livestock or pets which might be attacked and/or killed by them because the dogs were starving. She had no concern for the neighbors living in the area where she dumped these dogs that little children - long a target for Huskies due to their high prey drive - might be attacked, especially if the dogs were starving. She had no concern for the dogs which could starve to death, or be hit and killed by cars - or worse, hit and thrown into a ditch with a broken back to suffer for days before finally dying. She had no concern that these dogs, if they survived, could be shot by people thinking they were coyotes, wolves or simply because they were roaming around.
She wasn't "afraid" they would be euthanized. Purebred dogs, as long as they don't have serious behavior problems, will get shipped off to breed-specific rescues.
The TRUTH is that it was her EGO that resulted her in doing this. She didn't want to have to explain to people why her business failed. She didn't want other Husky breeders to know. It may also be that was selfish, too, and didn't want anyone to get her "property". But no, she had no compassion or concern for these dogs or she never would have done such a horrible thing.
“I am truly sorry about the mistake in judgment that I made,” Hosler said in Lenawee County Circuit Court on May 31, before being rebuked by Judge Margaret Noe.
“There is absolutely nothing that can be said to justify what you did and the manner in which you did it,” Judge Noe told Hosler.
With the exception of a male that was struck by a car and killed, the dogs were either adopted or placed in rescues.
Hosler had operated a breeding kennel called Hosler Huskies (also known as Hosler’s Husky Haven) from her Monroe County home.
Why wasn't her husband, Mark Hosler, arrested as well? There's no way he didn't know the conditions in the kennels were, for years, bad. There's no way he didn't know she was selling sick puppies because she wasn't bothering to clean the kennels or take the animals to the vet. For YEARS, he benefited financially from the suffering of these animals.
Aug 29, 2011
Facing charges
Mark A. Hosler, 49, 3943 Anders Rd., Petersburg, retail fraud-third degree, disorderly person-disturbing the peace, driving with suspended license. Pretrial conference Sept. 26, 2011.
Earlier:
Not sticking up for anyone, but I do believe mark was dead before Deborah got caught and went to jail. I think he died of a heart attack.
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