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Agents probe Mahoning Valley's 7th case of animal abuse
BOARDMAN
Humane agents are investigating possibly the Mahoning Valley’s seventh animal-abuse case since Jan. 30.
Animal Charity of Ohio Office manager Talia Musolino said a pit bull who was reportedly shot late Monday actually does not have a gunshot wound, and instead suffered some kind of blunt-force trauma.
“He was either hit by a car or a blunt [object],” Musolino said.
Boardman police were called to the 4000 block of Southern Boulevard about 10:20 p.m. Monday when a man reported a pit bull wandering in the neighborhood appeared to have been shot in the head.
Police noted in their report the dog named “Vito” had a cut between his eyes and was lethargic and disoriented.
The dog’s owner said Vito got out of the house about 9 p.m. through a side door that was broken earlier that day, police said.
“The dog is acting normal now,” Musolino said. “It’s just hard to say exactly what happened. It’s another case where if anyone saw anything, please come forward.”
Humane agents also responded to another recent possible case of animal cruelty but after investigating, found that it did not appear to be abuse, Musolino said.
In that case, a black cat was found swinging from a tree in Austintown’s township park about 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Walkers in the park called police, who said a small branch was wrapped around the cat’s neck and that the feline appeared to have been dead for a while, according to reports.
“There was no rope and nothing actually hanging the cat. It seems more so that it got stuck,” Musolino said.
Including the case of Vito, there have been seven cases of animal abuse in the Mahoning Valley since Jan. 30.
Musolino encouraged anyone with information to any case to come forward.
“The rewards keep getting higher,” she said.