MOUNT VERNON – Mount Vernon Municipal Court Judge John Thatcher approved a motion filed by law director Rob Broeren on Friday to dismiss the charges pressed against Kristin Beaupry, 24, of Centerburg, who ran Pittie Paw Rescue in Butler Township.
Beaupry was charged on Oct. 29 with one count of cruelty to animals, a second-degree misdemeanor, and six counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals, which are all first-degree misdemeanors, according to court records.
All 67 dogs at Beaupry’s dog rescue, located at 29710 Coshocton Road, were seized by Knox County Dog Warden John Carhart between the months of August and September 2018.
The warden cited health hazards – namely poor airflow, a lack of wholesome food and running water, and the presence of mold, urine and feces – at the facility in his inspection reports. He also noted that several of the dogs appeared underweight.
A dog named Opal, who suffered myriad internal infections and had not received veterinary care since February 2018, had to be euthanized after being surrendered on Sept. 6. Opal was one of 17 dogs named in the charges.
Because the charges in Knox County were dismissed on Friday, the case here is closed. No sentencing will occur. Broeren cited the punishment Beaupry faces in Licking County, for a separate animal cruelty case, as one of the central reasons for dismissing the charges in Knox County.
Beaupry and her mother, Joyce Meisenhelder, 43, of Heath, await a 10-day jail sentence and three years of probation in Licking County. The two were sentenced on Feb. 15 in Licking County Municipal Court after pleading guilty to two counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals and one count of abandoning animals, all second-degree misdemeanors.
The mother and daughter were charged after 23 cats were found abandoned in their Frazeysburg-area trailer in August. They had used the trailer to operate Pittie Paw Rescue, a nonprofit rescue organization for cats and dogs. They were evicted one week before the Aug. 4 raid. Beaupry was accused of leaving the cats in the tied-shut trailer and taking the dogs to Knox County, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Of the 23 cats found, two were dead. One of the cats had been deceased for a week and the other for one to three months, the Newark Advocate reported. Fleas and feces covered the inside of the trailer. The cats had no food or water.
Judge David Stansbury sentenced Beaupry and Meisenhelder to 180 days in jail each, with 170 days suspended. They were both barred from running or participating in an animal rescue shelter in the future. Among additional court fines, Stansbury ordered Beaupry and Meisenhelder to pay a joint restitution of $2,001.95 to the Licking County Humane Society.
Beaupry and Meisenhelder initially faced 24 counts involving cruelty to animals. Attorney Sam Shamansky represented both women and negotiated the plea agreement.
When it came to the charges in Knox County, Broeren cited the desire to avoid an overlap in sentencing. If Beaupry was charged and convicted in Knox County as well, her probationary sentence would likely overlap with the one in Licking County.
“Supervising her while she’s being supervised in Licking County for the same crime is a waste of resources,” Broeren said.
Broeren added that Beaupry resides in Licking County, and Mount Vernon Municipal Court “does not like to supervise residents who are out-of-county.”
“There was not a lot we could do beyond the punishment that is occurring in Licking County,” he added.
Broeren said that after Beaupry surrendered all of her dogs to Carhart, she closed Pittie Paw Rescue. She did not renew her animal rescue license. Beaupry also surrendered her IRS section 501(C)(3) designation, which allowed her to raise money as a non-profit.
Local attorney Morgan Giles, who defended Beaupry in the case, said she did “everything that was asked of her” during the negotiation process.
“She’s not going to be operating any type of animal welfare businesses in Knox County,” said Giles, who added that Beaupry decided not to on her own volition. “That’s what the state wanted, and she’s not going to do that.”
Giles said Beaupry has “no intent to get back into that type of business at all.”
The Mount Vernon Law Director’s Office became involved “early on” in the case, Broeren said, helping secure a search warrant for the initial search of the site. Broeren’s office worked with Carhart, Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville, and Giles to reach a resolution in the case.
“We needed to make sure that she wouldn’t go and ever run an animal rescue ever again, and we were able to make sure that happened,” Broeren said. “Our goal was to deal with the animals that she brought into the county as expeditiously as possible and to make sure that she would not be in a position to do this again.”
Since September, Broeren said Carhart has “engaged several outside experts” to field advice on how to handle the surrendered dogs – which ones could be adopted, which ones could go to specialized rescues and which ones were not adoptable.
A spokesperson at the Knox County Animal Shelter said in October that by the time charges were filed, all 67 dogs had been assessed.
Broeren said this case was unique – in fact, a first – for his office.
“We have never worked on an animal cruelty case that spanned multiple counties involving this many animals,” Broeren said. “We’ve never worked on a case like this.”
Pittie Paw timeline
Aug. 4, 2018: Deputies from the Licking County Sheriff’s Office were called to a trailer in Frazeysburg, where owners Kristin Beaupry and Joyce Meisenholder had operated Pittie Paw Rescue, a rescue organization for cats and dogs. Deputies found 23 cats at the trailer, two of them deceased. The trailer was filled with fleas and feces, the Newark Advocate reported.
Aug. 4, 2018: On the same day, the Licking County Humane Society filed charges against Beaupry and Meisenholder for prohibitions concerning companion animals. The Licking County Humane Society took custody of the cats that day.
Aug. 27, 2018: Knox County Dog Warden John Carhart was called to inspect the Pittie Paw Rescue property in Butler Township, which was formerly a cabinet shop. When he arrived, he found 67 dogs, seven of which appeared underweight. He reported that the building had low airflow, “which was insufficient for the number of dogs and produced strong odors of dog urine and feces.” He found mold, a lack of lighting, and defects in kennel panels at the facility.
Carhart made weekly inspections of the facility from that point forward. He also gave Beaupry, the owner, timelines for various improvements that needed to be made.
Aug. 31, 2018: Beaupry and Meisenholder pleaded not guilty to charges in Licking County.
Sept. 19, 2018: Knox County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Wetzel ordered all dogs be seized from the Butler Township facility after the warden concluded it would soon run out of water due to the neighboring property owner shutting off driveway access.
With the help of local law enforcement, Carhart transported 46 dogs from the facility that day. Beaupry had previously surrendered 21 dogs between the time of the first inspection and the time of the seizure. All dogs were taken to the Knox County Animal Shelter.
Sept. 27, 2018: Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville filed a request for an injunction against Beaupry, which prevented her from reclaiming 15 of the dogs seized from her facility on Sept. 19. Under state law, an owner has the right to reclaim dogs 14 days after a court-ordered seizure occurs, unless the court orders otherwise.
Oct. 29, 2018: Beaupry was charged in Mount Vernon Municipal Court with one count of cruelty to animals, a second-degree misdemeanor, and six counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals, which are all first-degree misdemeanors.
Nov. 13, 2018: Beaupry pleaded not guilty to charges in Knox County.
Both cases – in Knox and Licking County – were set for jury trials. Both were delayed twice during the pre-trial process.
Feb. 15, 2019: Beaupry and Meisenholder changed their pleas to ‘guilty’ in Licking County Municipal Court. The mother and daughter were sentenced to 10 days in jail and three years of probation. They were both barred from running or participating in an animal rescue shelter in the future. Among additional court fines, judge David Stansbury ordered Beaupry and Meisenhelder to pay a joint restitution of $2,001.95 to the Licking County Humane Society.
March 1, 2019: Mount Vernon Law Director Rob Broeren, serving as prosecutor, made a motion to dismiss all charges against Beaupry in Mount Vernon Municipal Court on the grounds that her punishment would overlap with what she had already incurred in Licking County. Judge John Thatcher approved the motion, thereby dismissing the charges and closing the case.
