Harrison County Indiana
animal control officer Bruce LaHue
Complaint leads to change in animal policy
Ross SchulzrSeptember 23, 2009 | 11:56 AM
The Harrison County Board of Commissioners Monday night heard a complaint from Milltown resident David Stillwell and his wife, Tonya Buckler, about the Harrison County Animal Control Facility and Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue.
"I'm concerned about the way things were handled," Stillwell said.
Stillwell said his two domestic cats — one neutered, micro-chipped male and a male Blue Russian — were trapped unbeknownst to Stillwell by the Milltown Police Department on Sept. 2 and then taken to the Harrison County Animal Control facility in Corydon.
LaHue said he has an agreement with Milltown to take in cats from the Crawford County side of Milltown but only from the elementary school property, town hall, Cave Country Canoes and the police department, and only if the number does not exceed 1/4 of the total cats contained from Milltown, including the Harrison County side of town.
The agreement was in response to a request by the Milltown Police Department to work in cooperation with Harrison County Animal Control to take action in dealing with the unwanted and neglected animal population in the town limits of Milltown.
Milltown Police Chief Ray Saylor, in an interview yesterday, said he has received multiple complaints from several people within the town about stray animals.
Saylor said traps are only set on private property at the request and permission of the land owner. Public traps, like the one which trapped Stillwell's cats, are set at least 120 feet from private property. He also said at-large animals are not allowed by state and town statute.
LaHue, reached by phone yesterday, said the commissioners informed him Monday night after the regular meeting to abandon the policy with Milltown immediately.
LaHue said he had to respect the board's decision but it was not right for the residents of Milltown and Harrison County.
Saylor agreed.
"He was trying to be proactive with a problem that will ultimately be a Harrison County problem," Saylor said.
Saylor said he thought what LaHue was doing with the animal control problem in Milltown was admirable.
"The agreement he made was outside of the will of the commissioners," Commissioner Chairman James Goldman said. "We told him to call Ray (Saylor) in the morning to notify him it was to be discontinued. There was no benefit to the county, just headaches."
Stillwell said he spoke with representatives of the Milltown Police Department and the animal control facility in the days following his cats' disappearance and couldn't get an answer regarding the whereabouts of his cats.
Stillwell said he confirmed that the cats were trapped by Milltown by viewing colored photos of the cats with Saylor.
Stillwell said he went to find answers from LaHue and the animal control facility. Unable to reach LaHue, Stillwell decided to go to LaHue's home, after receiving the address from LaHue's relatives, to ask him about his cats.
Stillwell said he arrived at LaHue's residence at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, rang the door bell and stepped away from the door "as you do to be non-threatening."
LaHue answered, Stillwell said, and, after asking if he was Bruce LaHue, Stillwell said he didn't get a full sentence out before LaHue "looked at me with utter contempt and said with the utmost hatred, 'Get off of my property; I don't care about your animals.' "
Stillwell said LaHue's wife said the family had just arrived home and had received Stillwell's message, and others, about the cats. He said LaHue already had a phone in his hand and was calling the sheriff's department.
Stillwell said LaHue told him if he wasn't a former police officer, he would be "dragging me off of his property."
LaHue, however, after the meeting Monday night, said he did not speak that way to Stillwell.
"He told me he was going to break me in half," LaHue said. "I told him, 'Being a former officer, I know the law and, if you touch me, I'll defend myself. This is private property. You need to leave.' "
Stillwell admitted Monday night that he was out of line.
"Finally, after being told for the third or fourth time that if he hadn't been a (former) police officer, he would drag me off of his property, I snapped and told him that I wanted him to put his hands on me," Stillwell, in a summary written to the commissioners, said. "Actually, I was begging him to put his hands on me and, that if he did, I would break him in half."
Eventually, Stillwell said, he decided he needed to leave but not before he was handcuffed by a Harrison County police officer. He was later released.
It wasn't until Sept. 18, Stillwell said, that he learned the cats he identified as his were euthanized on Sept. 3, the day after being captured.
LaHue filed an incident report on the case, which included documents on the animals which were euthanized on Sept. 3. The cats euthanized that day were sick with an upper respiratory condition and for non-social behavior or aggression.
"It's a difficult situation," LaHue said. "I'm still not convinced his animals were in our possession."
LaHue said Stillwell described his cats as friendly, but the cats euthanized were aggressive. He also said the cats were not micro-chipped, and staff members said no cat "even close" to a unique Blue Russian was brought in to the animal control facility.
Commissioner James Goldman said the case would have to be reviewed before any action could be taken.
In other business Monday night, the board sent a request of $227,250 to the county council for new voting machines for the 2010 election cycle and beyond.
The machines, produced by Hart intercivic, have been used in one election cycle in Hawaii.
"It would save the county at least $150,000, if not $200,000, if we purchase this equipment that was used once," Circuit Court Clerk Sherry Brown said. "If we don't act now, I'm afraid that equipment will be sold and we'll be forced to buy new (equipment) after 2010."
The commissioners were also notified by county planner and land conservation committee member Eric Wise that the committee has secured the second land preservation easement of the year and the third for the program. The 63.4-acre property, owned by Clarence Hausz, is located off Smith Creek Road near Lanesville.
The commissioners also approved compensation documents for RQAW Corp., the engineering firm hired for the old hospital renovation government complex project, totaling just more than $1 million for total professional services and reimbursable expenses.
Harrison Co. kennel cited after puppy adoption sparks investigation
Corydon, Ind. (WHAS11) --
by WHAS11
Posted on July 9, 2010 at 12:08 AM
Shannon Hall recently adopted Sneakers, a peekapoo puppy, from the Walnut Valley Kennel owned by Marie Pittman in Corydon, Indiana.
She says she found an ad in a local newspaper and set up an appointment with Pittman."What we saw were 30 dogs or so just laying out in the heat and little bitty puppies. Some of them looked just so, kinda limp and, like they didn't want to get up and play. They only had one bowl of water and one bowl of food. We talked to her for a little bit, asked to see the mom and dad. We weren't allowed to see the mom and dad," Hall said.
She said she immediately became uncomfortable,but still bought Sneakers after signing a contract.
"I signed it and handed $250 over and that was it," Hall said.
After contacting her vet to make sure Sneakers was healthy, Hall said that is when she decided to contact WHAS11. WHAS11 contacted Bruce LaHue at the Harrison County Animal Control Office and went with him as he investigated this complaint.
Once on property, LaHue asked Pittman about the puppy she sold to Hall. Pittman immediately asked us to leave her property.
WHAS11's Melanie Kahn asked Pittman why it was necessary to leave the property if there are no problems at Walnut Valley Kennel.
"Ma'am, just leave our property please," Pittman said again.
WHAS11 crews did leave the property but LaHue stayed to investigate.
"That water there does need to be changed," LaHue said.
According to Indiana State Law, all dogs must have access to clean food and water, must be protected from extreme temperatures and weather, and all dogs over 3-months-old must be vaccinated for rabies.
LaHue said Pittman's operation is legal and the 91 dogs at the Walnut Valley Kennel have vaccination records, food and water. However, he did issue two citations.
"Out of 20 pens, there were two where the water bowls that the water was dirty. It was unacceptable. And it didn't look like it was incidental, it didn't look like something that just happened, it had been that way for a while," LaHue said.
As for Hall, while she said she is thankful for her puppy, she also said she does have regrets.
"I'm upset because I feel like a contributed to it simply by buying the dog and I just feel like something has to be done, it has to be stopped. It's just pitiful for these animals to have to go through this," Hall said.
Plan needed for animal control, officer says
Alan Stewart write the authorJuly 06, 2011 | 09:46 AM
Two Harrison County residents spoke in favor of increasing funding and/or resources for Harrison County Animal Control yesterday (Tuesday) at the Harrison County Board of Commissioners meeting in the Government Center in south Corydon.
Kate Rieger and Abby Coffman both expressed their concern about the sustainability of HCAC under current budget constraints. Rieger noted that the number of calls for assistance have increased while the budget has decreased. Coffman echoed those remarks and said that she would like to see a continuing spay and neuter program here.
The county's only full-time animal control officer, Bruce LaHue, also spoke at the meeting and gave the commissioners a memorandum of record saying that he received his 2012 budget packet that indicated "no new positions would be funded and an inference that a reduction in funding is possible."
LaHue said he averages 25 calls for service each day.
"I'm not opposed to working, but one guy can't be in two places at once," LaHue said at the meeting, offering an example where he could be responding to a call in Lanesville and, by the time he responds to a stray dog complaint in Elizabeth, the dog in question may have wandered off. He also said that he's working far more than the 40 hours he's compensated, noting that he recently took in 28 dogs in a three-hour period due to a methamphetamine case the Indiana State Police was working on.
LaHue told the commissioners that part-time employees on his staff typically take care of cleaning the animals' retention area and other tasks at the animal control facility so he can be out answering calls for service.
LaHue asked the commissioners for their assistance in developing and implementing a plan that would include the allocation of temporary resources to address three areas of animal control: enforcement, spay/neuter and public education.
He proposed that the committee include a commissioner, a member of the Harrison County Council, the sheriff, a member of the prosecutor's office and health department, the Harrison County Animal Control officer, the spay/neuter coordinator, a member of HEART, a member of Friends of Harrison County Animal Control and a state-licensed veterinarian from the community.
"This committee would be responsible for establishing and overseeing clear objectives and funding requirements to ensure the overall goal of correcting the behavior of both animals and their owners is adequately accomplished," LaHue said.
He also made an additional request for $12,000 to cover pay for part-time employees through the rest of the year, saying his current fund will run out at the end of August. The commissioners voted to send the request on to the county council, to be paid for out of riverboat dollars.
"You really need three full-time people and several part-time out there, and we've never been able to do that," Commissioner Carl (Buck) Mathes said.
My input on this is why would Animal Control take animals away from a rescue to place more burden on yet an already financially stressed organization, when in fact the rescue had the room to house the animals that were illegally seized and never returned and owner never brought to court for any allegations?? Animals were stolen, either put to sleep or sold which is against the Constitution!
Indiana HB 1468 Goes Into Effect This seems like a great piece of legislation.
New animal laws have more bite
Alan Stewart
July 08, 2009
With an eye toward upgraded penalties for animal abuse, the first stage of Indiana House Bill 1468 went into effect last week. The second stage, geared more toward commercial dog breeders, goes into effect Jan. 1.
The bill, authored by State Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, was passed in April of this year and went into effect July 1. The legislation unanimously passed the House and cleared the Senate on a 44-4 vote.
Among other things, the new law makes it illegal to restrain an animal “in a manner that endangers the animal’s life or health” or “physically harms” the animal.
State law requires a tether be at least three times the animal’s length. Harrison County’s animal control ordinance requires the lead to be no less than 10 feet.
Harrison County Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue said enforcement will be done through his office, either through complaints or by him witnessing it.
“If I’m driving down the road and there’s a dog tied up with no food, no water, no shelter, I can use probable cause to find out what’s going on. The intent of the law is geared towards those who allow their dogs to be put in a situation where they can’t get to their food, water, shade or shelter,” LaHue said. “We’ve all seen instances where a dog walks themselves around a tree and this isn’t necessarily about that. It’s more for the people who just don’t care about their animals. You can’t feed or give an animal water once a week. You have to feed and give them water daily.”
Under the bill, owners are guilty of neglect if they fail to provide reasonable medical care for an animal’s injury or illness. It’s also a crime under this bill to torture by poisoning any vertebrate animal (not just dogs or cats), and the bill also makes abandoning or neglecting an animal a Class A misdemeanor and en-hances the penalty to a Class D felony if the person has a prior conviction.
The new law gives courts discretion in setting terms of bail, probation or parole to prohibit persons from having contact with their animals.
Parolees and those on probation already can be barred from owning, harboring or training an animal, and, under H.B. 1468, the same condition could be imposed on persons released on bail.
The new law makes it a Class A misdemeanor to kill a domestic animal without the consent of the owner.
The offense would be a Class D felony if the person knew — or reasonably should have known — the domestic animal was located on real property that was owned by the owner of the domestic animal or a person who keeps domestic animals on the real property for the purpose of breeding, boarding or training domestic animals.
LaHue said that portion of the new law still is subject to interpretation.
“If a person feels threatened or feels the animal is doing damage to their property or their wildlife, they may be justified, but with it now being a felony instead of a misdemeanor, I would think long and hard before shooting my neighbor’s dog,” LaHue said. “If I make the case that the dog was threatening me and my livestock, and then I can’t prove that, I’m looking at a felony charge.
“I think that it could make people stop and think about allowing the law to work for them instead of taking the situation into their own hands,” he said.
Getting the prosecutor to work with animal control on the new state law will be key in enforcement, LaHue said.
“I can write all the case reports I want, but if (the prosecutor) doesn’t file charges, there’s really nothing I can do about it,” he said.
“I think the legislators have taken a major step to improve animal laws in Indiana in terms of neglect and abuse,” he said. “I think the people that have lobbied to get this done did a good job.”
source: The Corydon Democrat
Ross SchulzrSeptember 23, 2009 | 11:56 AM
The Harrison County Board of Commissioners Monday night heard a complaint from Milltown resident David Stillwell and his wife, Tonya Buckler, about the Harrison County Animal Control Facility and Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue.
"I'm concerned about the way things were handled," Stillwell said.
Stillwell said his two domestic cats — one neutered, micro-chipped male and a male Blue Russian — were trapped unbeknownst to Stillwell by the Milltown Police Department on Sept. 2 and then taken to the Harrison County Animal Control facility in Corydon.
LaHue said he has an agreement with Milltown to take in cats from the Crawford County side of Milltown but only from the elementary school property, town hall, Cave Country Canoes and the police department, and only if the number does not exceed 1/4 of the total cats contained from Milltown, including the Harrison County side of town.
The agreement was in response to a request by the Milltown Police Department to work in cooperation with Harrison County Animal Control to take action in dealing with the unwanted and neglected animal population in the town limits of Milltown.
Milltown Police Chief Ray Saylor, in an interview yesterday, said he has received multiple complaints from several people within the town about stray animals.
Saylor said traps are only set on private property at the request and permission of the land owner. Public traps, like the one which trapped Stillwell's cats, are set at least 120 feet from private property. He also said at-large animals are not allowed by state and town statute.
LaHue, reached by phone yesterday, said the commissioners informed him Monday night after the regular meeting to abandon the policy with Milltown immediately.
LaHue said he had to respect the board's decision but it was not right for the residents of Milltown and Harrison County.
Saylor agreed.
"He was trying to be proactive with a problem that will ultimately be a Harrison County problem," Saylor said.
Saylor said he thought what LaHue was doing with the animal control problem in Milltown was admirable.
"The agreement he made was outside of the will of the commissioners," Commissioner Chairman James Goldman said. "We told him to call Ray (Saylor) in the morning to notify him it was to be discontinued. There was no benefit to the county, just headaches."
Stillwell said he spoke with representatives of the Milltown Police Department and the animal control facility in the days following his cats' disappearance and couldn't get an answer regarding the whereabouts of his cats.
Stillwell said he confirmed that the cats were trapped by Milltown by viewing colored photos of the cats with Saylor.
Stillwell said he went to find answers from LaHue and the animal control facility. Unable to reach LaHue, Stillwell decided to go to LaHue's home, after receiving the address from LaHue's relatives, to ask him about his cats.
Stillwell said he arrived at LaHue's residence at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, rang the door bell and stepped away from the door "as you do to be non-threatening."
LaHue answered, Stillwell said, and, after asking if he was Bruce LaHue, Stillwell said he didn't get a full sentence out before LaHue "looked at me with utter contempt and said with the utmost hatred, 'Get off of my property; I don't care about your animals.' "
Stillwell said LaHue's wife said the family had just arrived home and had received Stillwell's message, and others, about the cats. He said LaHue already had a phone in his hand and was calling the sheriff's department.
Stillwell said LaHue told him if he wasn't a former police officer, he would be "dragging me off of his property."
LaHue, however, after the meeting Monday night, said he did not speak that way to Stillwell.
"He told me he was going to break me in half," LaHue said. "I told him, 'Being a former officer, I know the law and, if you touch me, I'll defend myself. This is private property. You need to leave.' "
Stillwell admitted Monday night that he was out of line.
"Finally, after being told for the third or fourth time that if he hadn't been a (former) police officer, he would drag me off of his property, I snapped and told him that I wanted him to put his hands on me," Stillwell, in a summary written to the commissioners, said. "Actually, I was begging him to put his hands on me and, that if he did, I would break him in half."
Eventually, Stillwell said, he decided he needed to leave but not before he was handcuffed by a Harrison County police officer. He was later released.
It wasn't until Sept. 18, Stillwell said, that he learned the cats he identified as his were euthanized on Sept. 3, the day after being captured.
LaHue filed an incident report on the case, which included documents on the animals which were euthanized on Sept. 3. The cats euthanized that day were sick with an upper respiratory condition and for non-social behavior or aggression.
"It's a difficult situation," LaHue said. "I'm still not convinced his animals were in our possession."
LaHue said Stillwell described his cats as friendly, but the cats euthanized were aggressive. He also said the cats were not micro-chipped, and staff members said no cat "even close" to a unique Blue Russian was brought in to the animal control facility.
Commissioner James Goldman said the case would have to be reviewed before any action could be taken.
In other business Monday night, the board sent a request of $227,250 to the county council for new voting machines for the 2010 election cycle and beyond.
The machines, produced by Hart intercivic, have been used in one election cycle in Hawaii.
"It would save the county at least $150,000, if not $200,000, if we purchase this equipment that was used once," Circuit Court Clerk Sherry Brown said. "If we don't act now, I'm afraid that equipment will be sold and we'll be forced to buy new (equipment) after 2010."
The commissioners were also notified by county planner and land conservation committee member Eric Wise that the committee has secured the second land preservation easement of the year and the third for the program. The 63.4-acre property, owned by Clarence Hausz, is located off Smith Creek Road near Lanesville.
The commissioners also approved compensation documents for RQAW Corp., the engineering firm hired for the old hospital renovation government complex project, totaling just more than $1 million for total professional services and reimbursable expenses.
Harrison Co. kennel cited after puppy adoption sparks investigation
Corydon, Ind. (WHAS11) --
by WHAS11
Posted on July 9, 2010 at 12:08 AM
Shannon Hall recently adopted Sneakers, a peekapoo puppy, from the Walnut Valley Kennel owned by Marie Pittman in Corydon, Indiana.
She says she found an ad in a local newspaper and set up an appointment with Pittman."What we saw were 30 dogs or so just laying out in the heat and little bitty puppies. Some of them looked just so, kinda limp and, like they didn't want to get up and play. They only had one bowl of water and one bowl of food. We talked to her for a little bit, asked to see the mom and dad. We weren't allowed to see the mom and dad," Hall said.
She said she immediately became uncomfortable,but still bought Sneakers after signing a contract.
"I signed it and handed $250 over and that was it," Hall said.
After contacting her vet to make sure Sneakers was healthy, Hall said that is when she decided to contact WHAS11. WHAS11 contacted Bruce LaHue at the Harrison County Animal Control Office and went with him as he investigated this complaint.
Once on property, LaHue asked Pittman about the puppy she sold to Hall. Pittman immediately asked us to leave her property.
WHAS11's Melanie Kahn asked Pittman why it was necessary to leave the property if there are no problems at Walnut Valley Kennel.
"Ma'am, just leave our property please," Pittman said again.
WHAS11 crews did leave the property but LaHue stayed to investigate.
"That water there does need to be changed," LaHue said.
According to Indiana State Law, all dogs must have access to clean food and water, must be protected from extreme temperatures and weather, and all dogs over 3-months-old must be vaccinated for rabies.
LaHue said Pittman's operation is legal and the 91 dogs at the Walnut Valley Kennel have vaccination records, food and water. However, he did issue two citations.
"Out of 20 pens, there were two where the water bowls that the water was dirty. It was unacceptable. And it didn't look like it was incidental, it didn't look like something that just happened, it had been that way for a while," LaHue said.
As for Hall, while she said she is thankful for her puppy, she also said she does have regrets.
"I'm upset because I feel like a contributed to it simply by buying the dog and I just feel like something has to be done, it has to be stopped. It's just pitiful for these animals to have to go through this," Hall said.
Plan needed for animal control, officer says
Alan Stewart write the authorJuly 06, 2011 | 09:46 AM
Two Harrison County residents spoke in favor of increasing funding and/or resources for Harrison County Animal Control yesterday (Tuesday) at the Harrison County Board of Commissioners meeting in the Government Center in south Corydon.
Kate Rieger and Abby Coffman both expressed their concern about the sustainability of HCAC under current budget constraints. Rieger noted that the number of calls for assistance have increased while the budget has decreased. Coffman echoed those remarks and said that she would like to see a continuing spay and neuter program here.
The county's only full-time animal control officer, Bruce LaHue, also spoke at the meeting and gave the commissioners a memorandum of record saying that he received his 2012 budget packet that indicated "no new positions would be funded and an inference that a reduction in funding is possible."
LaHue said he averages 25 calls for service each day.
"I'm not opposed to working, but one guy can't be in two places at once," LaHue said at the meeting, offering an example where he could be responding to a call in Lanesville and, by the time he responds to a stray dog complaint in Elizabeth, the dog in question may have wandered off. He also said that he's working far more than the 40 hours he's compensated, noting that he recently took in 28 dogs in a three-hour period due to a methamphetamine case the Indiana State Police was working on.
LaHue told the commissioners that part-time employees on his staff typically take care of cleaning the animals' retention area and other tasks at the animal control facility so he can be out answering calls for service.
LaHue asked the commissioners for their assistance in developing and implementing a plan that would include the allocation of temporary resources to address three areas of animal control: enforcement, spay/neuter and public education.
He proposed that the committee include a commissioner, a member of the Harrison County Council, the sheriff, a member of the prosecutor's office and health department, the Harrison County Animal Control officer, the spay/neuter coordinator, a member of HEART, a member of Friends of Harrison County Animal Control and a state-licensed veterinarian from the community.
"This committee would be responsible for establishing and overseeing clear objectives and funding requirements to ensure the overall goal of correcting the behavior of both animals and their owners is adequately accomplished," LaHue said.
He also made an additional request for $12,000 to cover pay for part-time employees through the rest of the year, saying his current fund will run out at the end of August. The commissioners voted to send the request on to the county council, to be paid for out of riverboat dollars.
"You really need three full-time people and several part-time out there, and we've never been able to do that," Commissioner Carl (Buck) Mathes said.
My input on this is why would Animal Control take animals away from a rescue to place more burden on yet an already financially stressed organization, when in fact the rescue had the room to house the animals that were illegally seized and never returned and owner never brought to court for any allegations?? Animals were stolen, either put to sleep or sold which is against the Constitution!
Indiana HB 1468 Goes Into Effect This seems like a great piece of legislation.
New animal laws have more bite
Alan Stewart
July 08, 2009
With an eye toward upgraded penalties for animal abuse, the first stage of Indiana House Bill 1468 went into effect last week. The second stage, geared more toward commercial dog breeders, goes into effect Jan. 1.
The bill, authored by State Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, was passed in April of this year and went into effect July 1. The legislation unanimously passed the House and cleared the Senate on a 44-4 vote.
Among other things, the new law makes it illegal to restrain an animal “in a manner that endangers the animal’s life or health” or “physically harms” the animal.
State law requires a tether be at least three times the animal’s length. Harrison County’s animal control ordinance requires the lead to be no less than 10 feet.
Harrison County Animal Control Officer Bruce LaHue said enforcement will be done through his office, either through complaints or by him witnessing it.
“If I’m driving down the road and there’s a dog tied up with no food, no water, no shelter, I can use probable cause to find out what’s going on. The intent of the law is geared towards those who allow their dogs to be put in a situation where they can’t get to their food, water, shade or shelter,” LaHue said. “We’ve all seen instances where a dog walks themselves around a tree and this isn’t necessarily about that. It’s more for the people who just don’t care about their animals. You can’t feed or give an animal water once a week. You have to feed and give them water daily.”
Under the bill, owners are guilty of neglect if they fail to provide reasonable medical care for an animal’s injury or illness. It’s also a crime under this bill to torture by poisoning any vertebrate animal (not just dogs or cats), and the bill also makes abandoning or neglecting an animal a Class A misdemeanor and en-hances the penalty to a Class D felony if the person has a prior conviction.
The new law gives courts discretion in setting terms of bail, probation or parole to prohibit persons from having contact with their animals.
Parolees and those on probation already can be barred from owning, harboring or training an animal, and, under H.B. 1468, the same condition could be imposed on persons released on bail.
The new law makes it a Class A misdemeanor to kill a domestic animal without the consent of the owner.
The offense would be a Class D felony if the person knew — or reasonably should have known — the domestic animal was located on real property that was owned by the owner of the domestic animal or a person who keeps domestic animals on the real property for the purpose of breeding, boarding or training domestic animals.
LaHue said that portion of the new law still is subject to interpretation.
“If a person feels threatened or feels the animal is doing damage to their property or their wildlife, they may be justified, but with it now being a felony instead of a misdemeanor, I would think long and hard before shooting my neighbor’s dog,” LaHue said. “If I make the case that the dog was threatening me and my livestock, and then I can’t prove that, I’m looking at a felony charge.
“I think that it could make people stop and think about allowing the law to work for them instead of taking the situation into their own hands,” he said.
Getting the prosecutor to work with animal control on the new state law will be key in enforcement, LaHue said.
“I can write all the case reports I want, but if (the prosecutor) doesn’t file charges, there’s really nothing I can do about it,” he said.
“I think the legislators have taken a major step to improve animal laws in Indiana in terms of neglect and abuse,” he said. “I think the people that have lobbied to get this done did a good job.”
source: The Corydon Democrat