Nearly 50 animals seized from home of suspected cock-fighting ring

50 animals seized from Medina Township Ohio home,

courtesy CBS 19 WOIO

About 50 animals removed from a Medina Township home Thursday morning, and officials believe the owner was possibly operating a cock fighting ring…more

Burgess pleads in dog shelter case

TROY - A New Carlisle man accused of running a dog rescue and adoption center in Piqua before city officials shut it down after it was declared a public nuisance and health hazard pleaded guilty Monday as charged to a total of 14 misdemeanor counts following a pretrial hearing in municipal court.

Jeff Burgess, 57, the former owner of One More Chance Rescue and Adoption, once located at 125 Clark Ave., entered the guilty pleas to a variety of related counts of animal cruelty and violations regarding rabies, immunization, quarantine and unsanitary conditions, in addition to three other counts related to prescription drugs found inside the facility back when it was raided last November.

A presentence investigation was ordered, but no sentencing date was set…

…Only a few dogs died, and all other dogs were adopted out to happy homes, officials with the clean up process said…more

Man who had almost 400 dogs admits cruelty

… A man who hoarded nearly 400 dogs on a farm he rented in Clark County pleaded guilty yesterday to five misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a companion animal.

Howard Jeff Burgess, 57, of Xenia, was charged after Clark County humane agents seized 361 dogs in February from a property he rented west of Springfield.

...No other humane society in Ohio had ever dealt with a seizure so large, and simply finding shelter for the animals was an immediate problem.

The dogs — 387 by the time several litters were born after the seizure — were kept at the Franklin County Fairgrounds until April 8, when the last one was shipped out. Hundreds of volunteers worked round-the-clock to care for them until each one could be sent to a rescue, another shelter or a permanent or foster home.

Burgess initially had been charged in Clark County Municipal Court with 46 counts of cruelty to a companion animal, but prosecutors agreed to dismiss all but the most-serious of the offenses because, under Ohio law, Burgess can be sentenced only to a maximum of 18 months in jail. These five counts could earn him that much time.

Michael Sheils, chief prosecutor for the city of Springfield, said he has asked the court for a mental evaluation of Burgess before he is sentenced later this month.

“The hoarding issues need to be explored,” Sheils said. “The goal must be to minimize the chances of this ever happening again.”…more

Sedamsville [Ohio] Man Finds 130 Pound Rare Python in Yard

Officials from the [Cincinnati] Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and police were called to the scene in the 600 block of Delhi Avenue around 11 a.m…

The snake is about 14 feet long. It was taken to the SPCA offices in Northside and then handed over to the Arrowhead Reptile Rescue.

Rescue officials say Reticulated pythons are from southeast Asia and can grow to be over 30 feet long- the world’s longest snake. These snakes are constrictors and are not venomous, but should be considered dangerous and quite capable of killing an adult human although attacks are extremely rare…see video

Click here to email the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and urge them to ban private ownership of pythons and other dangerous wild animals as “pets!”