Woman pleads innocent to animal cruelty

The Animal Welfare League is looking for permanent homes for nearly 200 animals.

By ED RUNYAN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

Animals rescued from Gustavus home

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William D. Lewis/The Vindicator Kathy Witzman in Brookfield Court 2-18-10 on charges stemming a large number of animals kept on her Gustavas property. At right is her lawyer Charles Mickens.

BROOKFIELD — Judge Ronald Rice of Eastern District Court ordered Kathy Witzman of Gustavus to stay away from animals until a criminal case charging her with cruelty to animals and open dumping is complete.

He also ordered that close to 200 animals taken from her home on state Route 187 on Friday and Saturday become the property of the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County, which is caring for them at several undisclosed locations.

The league says the ruling will allow it to begin finding permanent homes for the animals, though it’s possible some will have to be euthanized.

During a Thursday hearing, Witzman, 58, operator of Humane Sanctuary Inc. for the past 14 years, pleaded innocent to the two charges and was released on a personal-recognizance bond, meaning at no cost.

She told Judge Rice she would try to come up with $2,250 in bond money by Monday to retain the rights for a month to three dogs she believed would not fare well under the care of the Animal Welfare League because of their aggressive tendencies.

“I wish I could keep them all. I just can’t afford the bond,” she said tearfully after the hearing.

Witzman said she realizes her home “wasn’t the Ritz” but thinks that her house, a barn and the backyard where she kept the 162 dogs, 15 cats, 14 chickens, five ducks and two horses kept alive a lot of animals that otherwise would be dead.

“It was a farm setting. This isn’t a million-dollar facility,” she said of the home authorities raided Friday, finding filthy conditions in the house, and dogs that reportedly were not being fed, watered or kept in a humane manner.

Witzman said she accepted dogs from all over Ohio and didn’t turn away breeds thought to be aggressive, such as pit bulls or bull dogs.

Witzman ran a “no kill” shelter, which doesn’t euthanize dogs for having aggressive tendencies, she said.

The raid put Witzman in the Trumbull County jail briefly and sent her 97-year-old mother to the hospital. It came about because a woman from Cleveland “ingratiated herself” at Witzman’s home and then brought other people there who thought dogs should not live outside during the winter, Witzman said.

Witzman said she believes the dogs — most of them living in cages or chained to dog houses in Witzman’s backyard or in a barn — were better off there than dead.

She added that she and her helpers distributed 160 pounds of dog food every day and water to every dog every day — a statement that Deputy Harold Firster of the Trumbull County Sheriff’s office disputes. Firster said he believes the dogs went long periods without food or water.

Witzman said some of the dogs were thin but only because they came to her that way. She said the two dead dogs found in the house were alive when she left but were attacked and partially eaten by other dogs because of the commotion in the house Friday.

Sean O’Brien, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, said that if Witzman is convicted on the animal-cruelty charge, one of the possible terms of her probation is that she be prohibited from being around animals for up to five years. Witz-man’s next hearing in Eastern District Court is March 4.

Witzman said she first started her animal sanctuary in Suffield Township, Portage County, 14 years ago and moved to Gustavus in 2001.

Barbara Busko, Animal Welfare League president, said Witzman’s desire to help animals is sincere, but Witzman apparently was unable to accept that there are limits to what she can do. Unlike other no-kill shelters that refuse to accept dogs beyond a certain number, Witzman apparently refused to turn any animals away and “got overwhelmed.”

Busko asks anyone interested in helping the Animal Welfare League or fostering or adopting any of the dogs to call (330) 394-3515 or (330) 399-2086.

runyan@vindy.com