… 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
