Dogs found in abandoned home

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

City patrolman Jeffrey Roberts says it’s no secret among his colleagues how much he cares for animals.

So Wednesday, while showing rookie officer Anthony Trimble some out-of-the-way spots on his East Side beat, Roberts heard a dog barking on Crofton Street, a street devoid of all but two abandoned houses — but abundant in litter and bugs. He stopped because hearing a dog bark in that barren part of the city is unusual.

“I’m the dog lover on day turn,” said Roberts. “Everybody knows it.”

Roberts decided to stop, and it was a good thing he did. Police and humane agents found two dogs inside the home that Dave Nelson of the Mahoning County Dog Warden’s office said appear to have been kept there for dog-fighting purposes.

Both dogs appeared to have been cared for, but one was tethered to a chain in the front yard, and another was inside the home. The dog in front of the home that caught Roberts’ attention did not give himself up quietly to be taken captive but settled down once he was placed in an Animal Charity van.

Both dogs were taken there to be checked out by a veterinarian. “It was lucky they were out on patrol and spotted them,” Nelson said.

At times, the dog in the front yard was pacified by doughnuts hurled his way by Patrolman Robert Martini. Officers had to fortify themselves with insect repellent before checking the home because of the large number of insects that could be seen buzzing around.

Roberts, Trimble and Martini, along with a supervisor, Detective Sgt. Steven Schiffhauer and humane agent Stefanie Boggs of Animal Charity, also checked the inside of the house, which appeared to have been vacant for several years, although call logs show that dogs were removed from the home in January 2014.

Police said records also show that the home is on the city’s demolition list.

The other dog, a female, was found inside the home. Nelson had to use a snare to capture both dogs. Boggs and Nelson both said the dogs appeared to be in good shape and had been fed. Roberts said, however, there were several empty food bowls in the home, and water bowls were filled with mosquitoes and undrinkable.

Nelson said there were more chains in another room, leading him to think other dogs had been in the home before. He said it is not uncommon for people who fight dogs to stash the dogs they use in vacant houses. The two dogs found Wednesday appear to be bait dogs, Nelson said, or dogs used to help train fighting dogs.

“It’s a pretty common thing,” Nelson said.

Nelson said it is also common for people to abandon animals in that part of the city because parts of it are deserted.