Animal violence hits recent high point

Three recent animal cruelty cases highlight efforts to bring abusers to justice.

Allen County Dog Warden Julie Shellhammer continues to investigate the death of a puppy that was set on fire in the early morning hours of Sept. 18 and died the next day.

The dog's mouth was apparently taped shut before it was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire.

"The person or people responsible for torturing this puppy need to be brought to justice," Shellhammer said. Rewards of more than $1,500 are offered for information about the crime. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 419-229-7867.

Dale Bartlett, spokesman for the Humane of the United States, said animal abuse is often and indicator of additional criminal activity, either now or in the future.

"Studies have shown that 70 percent of animal abusers are involved in other crimes," he said. "More and more police departments are realizing that by going after animal abusers they are taking people off the street who are significant threats to the community."

Shellhammer added that studies have shown that people who abuse animals were likely abused themselves and also likely to abuse others.

"This is a person who needs help. It's somebody we don't want out on the streets causing more injury to animals and humans," she said.

Ohio Northern University Psychology Professor Alfred Cohoe said torturing animals is a "very big red flag" that a person may be involved in other criminal activity.

"We know that almost every example of serial killers, almost everyone had killed or tortured animals as a child. That's been very consistent," he said.

"This doesn't mean that every event of animal cruelty will result in a serial killer," he said. "but it is a very bad indicator."

Auglaize County Humane Agent Laura Jones knows the importance of catching and punishing offenders. A recent case of a boyfriend beating up a woman's dog with a baseball bat saw the man sentenced to 180 days in jail a little more than a week after the incident occurred.

The case was a little different than most in that Adam Heckman, 24, of St. Marys, admitted to police on Sept. 8 that he had attacked the dog. He was sentenced on Sept. 16.

The dog in that case will survive, Jones said.

"At the scene it was really hard to assess," she said. "She wasn't responsive. Actually, the dog is doing better than expected. Every day, she kept making improvements. I think she's going to be OK."

A case that occurred Oct. 2, 2007, at Terrace Court Apartments on North Elizabeth Street in Lima seemed to be solved quickly but remains open. Jason M. Ragland, 22, of Lima, was set to go on trial April 2 on charges of animal cruelty. Several witnesses said they saw Ragland throw a cat from a porch. Ragland didn't show up for trial and an arrest warrant for failure to appear was issued against him. He remains at large.

Humane officers from several area counties, including Shellhammer and Jones, said intentional abuse cases like these are not common. Most animal abuse cases center around neglect, they said.