MOUNT VERNON – According to court documents, Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville filed a request Thursday for an injunction against Pittie Paw dog rescue and its owner, Kristin Beaupry, to stop her from reclaiming the dogs seized from her facility on Sept. 19 by Dog Warden John Carhart.
The injunction states that the dogs have “become evidence in a criminal investigation,” revealing that many of the dogs surrendered by Pittie Paw before Sept. 19 were infested with hookworms and whipworms. Some of the dogs tested positive for Lyme Disease and heartworm, while the injunction states that others have undiagnosed conditions and are still being tested.
Citing Ohio animal cruelty laws, McConville stated in the injunction that Carhart believes the dogs “constitute evidence of negligent cruelty to companion animals.”
“The worm infestations and other health conditions of the dogs could have been prevented with proper sanitation and alleviated with proper veterinary care,” the injunction reads.
The order filed Thursday impacts 15 of the 46 dogs seized from the Butler Township facility on Sept. 19. Those 15 dogs were not surrendered by Pittie Paw and are being treated as evidence.
Under state law, however, Pittie Paw has the right to reclaim those dogs 14 days after a court-ordered seizure occurs, unless the court orders otherwise. This led McConville to request an injunction that would allow Carhart to maintain possession of the dogs and prevent Pittie Paw from reclaiming them. The injunction would take precedence over the defendant’s right in this situation.
“Right now, assessments of the health of all of these dogs are ongoing as potential criminal actions are being evaluated,” McConville said in a Facebook statement. “I am optimistic that this civil action can lead to an effective and final resolution of the Pittie Paws situation.”
McConville said Friday that Beaupry had been in contact with the warden about reclaiming some of the dogs. He said Beaupry will have the opportunity to schedule a hearing to contest the injunction request.
According to court records, Carhart initially observed 66 dogs at the Pittie Paw rescue facility on August 27, during his first inspection. Between the first inspection and Sept. 19, when Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Wetzel ordered all dogs be seized from the facility, Beaupry surrendered 21 dogs to Carhart.
One dog, named Opal, was surrendered on Sept. 6 after appearing to be in “poor health,” the injunction stated. Opal was euthanized following an examination by a veterinarian, who found that the four-year old dog was “suffering from systemic infection, hookworm, and ulcerations of the mouth and esophagus.” Opal had not received veterinary care since February 23.
McConville noted in the injunction that violations of state animal cruelty laws are “classified variously as misdemeanors, with some offenses classified as felonies of the fifth degree.”
Of the 66 dogs initially seen at the facility, the warden reported that seven appeared underweight. He noted that the facility had low airflow, “which was insufficient for the number of dogs and produced strong odors of dog urine and feces,” according to court records. He also found mold, a lack of lighting, and defects in kennel panels at the facility.
While giving Beaupry time to improve these conditions, Carhart made weekly inspections of the facility.
On September 12, Carhart discovered exposed nails in the kennel panels. He saw that new lighting had been installed, but it “was still not sufficient to provide light into the individual kennels,” according to the injunction.
Four days later, the warden became aware that the neighboring property owner was preparing to shut down access to the rescue facility’s Western driveway, which he controlled but had shared with Pittie Paw in the past.
Because Carhart knew Pittie Paw owners had been trucking water into the facility (there was no running water) and there was no known easement to the property, he concluded that the dogs would likely run out of water within 24 hours and owners would also be unable to clean the facility.
McConville then petitioned Wetzel to order all dogs be seized from the facility, and Wetzel did so on the morning of Sept. 19.
