A union employee at an animal shelter was caught on internal security video hurting a dog. I know those of you who follow the atrocities at the Memphis pound are probably rolling your eyes and yawning – or maybe even nodding off by now because it’s something you’ve seen too many times to count and nothing is ever done, but wait – this happened in Lucas Co, OH. Apparently they do things a little differently there.
The dog warden at the Lucas Co shelter, Julie Lyle, was reviewing video footage from the security cameras, looking for information on an unrelated matter, when she saw the 26 year old employee, Aaron Nova, intentionally hurting a dog up for adoption. She immediately contacted the director and two cruelty officers from the local humane society. All three agreed that the behavior was criminal in nature and a cruelty citation was issued. The dog warden is asking the county commissioners to fire the employee.
(I am inserting a pause here for followers of the abuse at MAS to revive themselves.)
The person in charge saw the abuse and made no attempt to hide it, offered no excuses, and certainly no re-re-re-training. In fact, my favorite part of the article says:
Ms. Lyle said workers receive training when they begin working at the pound on how to move dogs.
“It is always supposed to be done with the least amount of force necessary, starting with a leash and cookies,” she said.
How do you like them apples? The dog in the video has since been adopted and the new owners report he is doing fine.
Oh yeah and that connection between violence against animals and violence against people that naysayers are quick to dismiss? We got that covered:
Mr. Nova has a previous record of violent behavior. He pleaded no contest and was found guilty of domestic violence, knowingly causing or attempt to cause physical harm to family or household member, and also an assault charge, after striking the mother of his daughter with his fist and trying to pull her out of a motor vehicle.
He was sentenced May 3 to a six-month suspended jail sentence and two years of probation.
Mr. Nova has been charged with a second degree misdemeanor count of animal cruelty and pleaded not guilty. But a judge found that the cruelty charge constituted a violation of the probation he got for beating up his child’s mother so he was sent to jail. Mr. Nova’s lawyer appealed however and won. The violent criminal made bail and will remain on paid leave until he goes to trial on the cruelty charge.
Hopefully he won’t hurt any more pets or people while he’s sitting on his ass, collecting paychecks courtesy of law abiding citizens. We may not always like the legal process or the union process in cases like these, but I love the fact that the cruel behavior on the video was instantly recognized for what it was and acted upon accordingly. Refreshing.
(Thank you Clarice for sending in the links on this story.)
Bravo! A message here for other places to follow….
How it should be…those with a spine would act accordingly. Refreshing to see is right!
wow.. he picks that dog up by the throat with two hands and carries it all the way down that isle.. picks it up again and throws it in the kennel.. Oh Yeah.. that’s animal cruelty/abuse. Is this a live feed shelter?
The cameras need to be turned back on at MAS..
It was not always thus in Lucas County. Kudos to Ms. Lyle.
Holy shit is that abuse! But FANTASTIC for the dog warden to act accordingly! And for others to back her up!
You see, Memphis? This is how it’s done.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I watched the video expecting to see something that was *kind of* in a grey area, but I watched it and my mouth was completely on the floor! And to know that he beat up his girlfriend and kid too? Jeez! This kid needs to be jailed for quite some time!
Who in the hell hires people with a violent arrest background, domestic abuse to work in an animal shelter?
::walk over to wall, pound head::
Um, he has been there six years, so I guess previous dog warden, dog-killer Skeldon would. And he was sentenced this year, so he probably wasn’t charged six years ago. That said, it is unfortunate that he was RETAINED at the shelter after the violent assault conviction.
We are not yawning about MAS TN….I keep sending the info to Humane Society’s hoping someone can pick up the ball on MAS and run with it as well as to the PD there…as far as this guy goes…why wasn’t he vetted with crim checks unless it’s a non gov shelter. good for them putting his butt out the door and I worked for law enforcement for 15 years and my guys never hurt anything but we did have lectures and such for the public and other enforcement agencies about the correlation between animal and human abuse….an abuser is an abuser is an abuser…period…..don’t let one near you, your kids, or you pets…and it amazed me how they are drawn to places where they think they can hurt things with impunity.
Good to hear that acts like this are no longer going unpunished,at least in this case. Maybe this will be a precedent.
http://www.plannedpethood.org/news/in_the_news.html/article/2011/09/21/questions-arise-over-once-gentle-dog-put-to-death-at-pound This director is still mired in regressive thinking even though she didn’t reward an employee for an act of violence caught on tape.
Did she have anything to say after this was posted?
Glad he is out of there, but I don’t think that he will be helped/corrected in jail. Can these type of angry people be helped with some kind of therapy?
Speechless…is Ms. Lyle suffering from schizophrenia? Dolly did not look like an aggressive dog, and knowing those breeds SO well, I doubt what Ms. Lyle interpreted as an “aggressive lunge” was what Dolly actually was doing. Yea, she gets kudos for kicking that brat’s bad ass…but it hasn’t done anything, has it? He’s sitting around, as Shirley says, getting paid off the taxpayers’ $$, and he’ll likely get off with a reprimand. He SHOULD lose his job and be legally restrained from ever being near an animal – or his kid and the mother – again. And I agree that jail time for someone so young will just instill more violence and perhaps he could get some kind of rehabilitative therapy. But he better never get in MY headlights on a dark night…
Thanks for the update on this one! All the way through this everyone did the right thing. We all know the links between domestic violence, career criminal acts, and animal abuse. The judge tried to get him on the probation violation – which most likely would’ve held if it had not been a dog (if it had been a human), and I’m glad the judge tried. Hopefully there will be advocates in the area that will now fight to change that loophole to so that the next time this occurs the criminal won’t get off so easily.
My question is, why are all those dogs just milling around in the middle of the isle? That also seems not just unsafe, but a violation of every shelter protocol I’ve ever seen…
I feel the same way everytime I see the foottage of the dogs in the stainless steel kennels that are facing each other! What a way to put fear and aggression into already scared – unaltered dogs. There is plenty of space in those rooms for the kennels to be back to back and give those animals atleast THAT peace of mind…
I am guessing this may be one of those facilities where they tie the dogs to the cages during cleaning.
YES- Thank you Julie Lyle and everyone for correcting this and taking the appropriate action. May it give us hope for other shelters to follow in their footsteps.
“An employee of the Lucas County Dog Warden’s Office who was placed on administrative leave because of an animal-cruelty case involving a dog at the shelter has been terminated by the county administrator.”
http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/10/11/County-fires-pound-worker-charged-in-dog-cruelty-case.html
MAS… take notes!
I hope they don’t have to rehire him.
http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2013/01/15/Trial-under-way-for-former-dog-pound-worker.html
serial killer in the making