Did dog die by neglect? Valley jury will decide

By PETER H. MILLIKEN

milliken@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

A dog owner’s civil lawsuit against a former Valley kennel owner in a highly publicized case of suspected animal neglect goes to trial next week.

The case is set for a jury trial on Sept. 28 before Magistrate Timothy G. Welsh of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Elizabeth Raab, of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., owner of a 3-year-old male Rottweiler named Nitro, who died in October 2008, sued Steven S. Croley, 38, former owner of the High Caliber K-9 Kennel on Coitsville-Hubbard Road.

The suit says Nitro died because Croley failed to provide adequate food, water, lodging or care for him.

Raab dropped off Nitro at the kennel in June 2008 under a $750-a-month agreement that the kennel would feed, house and train Nitro for at least three months, and that Raab would pay for any necessary veterinary care, the suit says.

However, the kennel failed to train the dog or have him examined or treated by a veterinarian, the suit says.

“Nitro died under defendant’s care due to long-term neglect,” according to the suit, which seeks more than $25,000 in damages.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.