The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department has issued a warrant for a Columbus man who is facing 70 charges after seven dogs were seized from his kennel on March 15. Cory W. Dewberry, a Columbus man who is a dog trainer and the owner of Dewberry Family K9 Kennels in Pickerington, was present on Friday when humane agents searched his kennel.
Deputies had received a report on March 10 from a client of Dewberry’s who had picked up her dog and found that he had lost almost 45 pounds during the two months he had spent in Dewberry’s care. The German Shepherd, Wolfgang, had lacerations on his body and was severely underweight.
Seven dogs were found living in unsanitary conditions and without food or water at the kennel at 9280 Carroll-Northern Rd. Unidentified animal remains were also found at the site, which have been sent to a veterinarian to be identified. Three dogs have been reported as missing by their owners.
One of the missing dogs is a 5-year-old male German Shepherd that was being boarded with Dewberry for training for working title. “Teddy” had been at the kennel for 18 months but all of a sudden Dewberry stopped all correspondence with the owner and finally informed her that her dog had run away.
Some of the missing dogs are shown in the slide show accompanying this article. If you have any information about the missing dogs, please contact Casssandre Miller:
cassandre.miller.3@facebook.com
The situation is all to familiar to Elizabeth Raab, whose dog Nitro was one of eight dogs starved to death at a Youngstown dog training facility in 2008. Raab has been the driving force behind Nitro’s Law, a campaign that has tried for the past four years to make this exact situation a felony in Ohio.
“If Nitro’s Law had been passed in the last general assembly,” Raab wrote on her Facebook page Monday, “There is a chance we wouldn’t be here today in search of another criminal, because maybe a felony (or 70 felonies) would have been the deterrent Cory Dewberry needed to do the right thing.”
RELATED:
- Nitro's Law reintroduced as Ohio House Bill 90
- The sad failure of Ohio's legislators to protect pets
- Ohio House to review animal cruelty law
The dogs on Dewberry’s premises were removed by the Fairfield County Humane Society. Six were returned to their owners. The seventh, a Rottweiler belonging to Dewberry is being held at the facility.
A warrant was issued for Dewberry’s arrest on Saturday, but he was not at the kennel when deputies arrived. His whereabouts remain unknown. Dewberry is being charged with 70 misdemeanor charges, which include 22 counts of animal cruelty, 15 counts of abandoning animals and prohibitions companion animals.
The March 15 search also revealed that the kennel was not in compliance with current licensing and permits. Deputies reported the kennel conditions were unsanitary, and the dogs appeared to be neglected.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Dewberry is asked to contact the Fairfield County Sheriff's office at 740-652-7900.
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