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A sad story out of Gallia County, OH last week. Columbus TV station NBC-4 is reporting that the shelter has been killing animals in an inhumane way, by injecting drugs directly into their hearts. Evidently this causes extreme pain, sometimes for as long as 30 minutes, when it is done without any sedatives.
While toxicology reports are still pending, which will show one way or another whether sedatives were used, three employees have been indicted on 2nd degree misdemeanor animal cruelty charges. Gallia County dog warden Paul Simmer, his assistant Jason Harris, and the former warden, Jean Daniels, have all pleaded not guilty in the deaths of at least a dozen dogs.
Necropsies were performed by the Ohio State University’s Veterinary Medical Center and showed that at least some of the dogs had been killed by injecting barbiturates into the heart. At least one died from blunt force trauma, and another had evidence of head trauma. The dogs’ bodies were then discarded in the trash, where they were picked up by investigators from the Ohio SPCA.
The three “humans” are due back in court April 1st for a pre-trial hearing. The really sad thing is that even if they are found guilty, they will probably get no more than 90 days in jail.
Watch this space for updates.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!