Former Radford pet store owner, Alexander Nelson, ordered to give up his animals

VIRGINIA -- A former Radford pet store owner has been forced to give up his animals.

On Monday, a Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ordered Alexander Nelson IV to sign over custody of a number of dogs and a hamster.

Nelson was charged in 2014 with 43 counts of animal cruelty. He was once the owner of Classy Critters in Radford, a pet store that is no longer in operation.

According to Angels of Assisi, when animal control arrived at his property in April, they found 32 under-socialized dogs living in inhumane conditions.

The dogs, which are keeshond and husky mixes, were taken into the care of Angels of Assisi on April 25 and have been receiving routine medical treatment and extensive rehabilitation. Angels of Assisi says volunteers have been working to socialize the dogs and most of them are ready for foster care and adoption.

(WBJ7 - May 05, 2015 )

Earlier:

• Former Radford pet store owner faces multiple animal cruelty charges
• Former Radford pet shop owner guilty of animal cruelty

Update: 91-year-old woman mauled to death by her own dog

CONNECTICUT -- A 91-year-old woman has died from severe bite wounds after her own dog attacked her in her kitchen on Friday.

Stella Antanantis was taken to Bridgeport Hospital after the dog, a Keeshond mix, began getting aggressive and attacked her. The incident happened at 75 Judith Terrace in Stratford.

Police said when they arrived, it was a very violent scene and that Antanantis was left with “a lot of blood.” She was somehow able to call 9-1-1 herself.

Residents saw the police and fire and ambulance, but didn’t know what happened, and as word of the nasty attack spread through the neighborhood, people could not believe the extent of the injuries.

“Both arms, badly mutated, that is crazy, it seams unreal to happen around here,” said neighbor Amy Garrison.

Police said the woman owned the dog for eight years. The owner had the dog since it was a puppy, and it had been a great dog, very well cared for. By all accounts, it had never done anything like this before, and police say it was a very disturbing incident because it came out of nowhere.

“It’s a very quiet neighborhood, all the dogs around here are very friendly,” a neighbor said. “And we know the owners of most of the dogs around here.”

Antanantis died of her wounds at Bridgeport Hospital Tuesday afternoon.

The dog is in custody of Animal Control until the conclusion of the investigation. They are still trying to figure out why the dog snapped, and will look at everything including rabies.

(WTNH - Nov 18, 2014)

Earlier:

• 91-Year-Old Woman Fighting for Life After Dog Attack

91-Year-Old Woman Fighting for Life After Dog Attack

CONNECTICUT -- A 91-year-old woman mauled by her own dog is fighting for her life three days after the attack.

Police said the woman suffered serious arm injuries when the dog attacked around 4 p.m. Friday at the victim's home on Judith Terrace in Stratford.

The dog mauled her in the kitchen, and although the victim was gravely hurt, she was conscious and managed to call 911 on her own. First responders rushed her to Bridgeport Hospital, where she remains in critical condition, hospital officials said.

According to her daughter, the victim has owned the black-and-white Keeshond mix for eight years and has never had a problem with the animal. Now she's dealing with skin grafts and kidney failure, and family members fear she is dying.

Neighbors described the victim as a quiet and kind woman and said they were reeling from the news.

"To think a dog could just turn on you and attack you like that... it's kind of crazy," said Amy Garrison, of Stratford. "I really have no idea, because you think you know your own dog."

Animal Control officers brought the dog to an animal shelter in Stratford following the attack. The animal's future remains uncertain – as does the future of the victim.

(NBC Connecticut - ‎Nov 17, 2014‎) 

Puppy mill operator, Debra Sue Leonard, 59, gets probation for 'attempted animal cruelty'

MICHIGAN -- A Cohoctah Township woman sentenced Thursday for attempted animal cruelty claimed pride kept her from getting help when she needed it.

Debra Sue Leonard, 59, told the sentencing judge that she has spent her life and "a lot of money" caring for her horses and dogs. She said pride kept her from asking for help when she faced health issues and a "bad winter" that led to what authorities called unsanitary living conditions.

"I love them," she said. "The hardest thing is to give them up. They're not just my pets. They're part of my life. ... They were in good health. It was mud on them, not feces."

Typical of a puppy mill, the breeder takes the
puppy into the house for photos - so you don't
see the squalor they're living in

Livingston County Circuit Judge Michael P. Hatty was not swayed, however. He told Leonard she was "not seeing with objective eyes" and he followed the plea deal that called for a two-year probation sentence that includes a provision that she not possess or own animals.

Probation requirements also call for Leonard's ineligibility for early release from probation and she is to allow Livingston County Animal Control officers and probation officers to randomly inspect her property to ensure she is not keeping any animals.

Leonard earlier pleaded no contest to one count of attempted animal cruelty, a one-year misdemeanor, knocked down from the original felony charge of animal cruelty to four dogs to 10 dogs.

Under the plea deal, the prosecutor's office dismissed two counts alleging Leonard had unlicensed Keeshonds, which are medium-sized dogs with a plush, two-layer coat of silver-and-black fur.

The show dogs were seized in April from Leonard's Beaubien Court home, west of Byron Road, after theywere found living in unsanitary conditions, including feces and urine, and had no food or water, authorities said. At least two of the dogs were not licensed, authorities noted.

The dogs were housed at Livingston County Animal Control, but have since been turned over to a national Keeshond rescue group. Under the plea deal, Leonard must pay an estimated $15,000 in restitution to Animal Control for housing the animals during the criminal case.

Leonard showed the dogs under the name Cinderlad Keeshonden. According to Cinderlad's website, Leonard continued the business after the original owner, Patricia Tocalis, died in March 2009.

On Thursday, Leonard said the American Kennel Club revoked her standing after the criminal case was publicized.

"I don't have any intention to breed again," she said.

(Livingston Daily - Sept 9, 2014)

Dog trapped in pickup engine has new home, new name

CALIFORNIA -- Chevy, a 25-pound dog discovered trapped in the engine compartment of a Chevrolet Silverado in San Clemente in sweltering heat Oct. 1, has a new owner. And a new name – Houdini.

"He escaped death," new owner Jaime Magaña said.

On Friday, the San Clemente/Dana Point Animal Shelter signed over adoption papers to Magaña, a building-restoration supervisor from Chino who had driven his company pickup 110 miles on a 95-degree day before getting a feeling that something might be horribly wrong under the hood.

Magaña, 52, said he parked at McDonald's in San Clemente, turned off the ignition, still felt movement, stepped out to investigate and feared the worst upon realizing that a hidden hitchhiker had been riding up front.

"I didn't want to open the hood," Magaña recalled. "He was next to the pulleys and the belts. Just a little move over to that side and he would have been chopped on those belts."

The year-old Keeshond/Tibetan spaniel mix had survived the entire morning cramped inside the hot engine. Fresh air from the fan may have saved him, authorities said.

Magaña, who said he recognized the dog from seeing it in his neighborhood a couple of days earlier, was in shock but ecstatic as he gently pulled him out from under the hood. The dog was uninjured and seemed fine except for a terrible thirst that Magaña quickly quenched.

He called the authorities. Shelter officials, marveling that the dog had come through the ordeal unfazed, nicknamed him Chevy.

Chevy went up for adoption after the San Clemente/Dana Point shelter contacted a shelter in the Chino area to put out word of a missing dog; no owner came forward.

On Friday, it was smiles all around as Magaña was awarded his new companion, known henceforth as Houdini.

"It's a happy ending," said Kim Cholodenko, the shelter's general manager.

Magaña and animal-control officials who inspected the truck surmised the dog had climbed into the engine compartment through an opening above the left front wheel and got stuck. Luckily there was just enough space for him to emerge unscathed.

The shelter screened an undisclosed number of adoption applicants. The dog's story had spread nationwide, so interest was high.

Cholodenko said it was clear that the Magaña family would make an excellent match after Magaña and his wife, Isabel, visited Saturday with their dogs Dexter and Dakota.

"I couldn't just let him go," Magaña said of Houdini. "I have two dogs, but after what we went through with this, it has to be ours."

(OC Register - Oct 19, 2012)

Earlier:

• Dog survives 'ruff' ride in truck engine