Episode 4

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Published on:

1st Sep 2025

Season One: State v. Steffen Baldwin / Episode 4 The Rise to Fame Part 2

The Animal Welfare Junction Season One: State v. Steffen Baldwin / Episode 4 The Rise to Fame Part 2

If you have not listened to Part 1, pause and come back after you have listened to or watched Part 1.

This episode is presented in two parts, both released simultaneously.

Investigators, witnesses and victims share their experiences as Steffen Baldwin rose to fame as an animal advocate.

This episode is available on YouTube by searching for the Animal Welfare Junction. YouTube episodes contain video and pictures of the case.

Transcript
Cedric:

This is Episode 4 The Rise to Fame, part 2.

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If you have not heard part 1 yet,

hit pause and check it out before

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continuing with this episode.

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DrG: In October, the Rascal unit truck

traveled to Jefferson County, Ohio as we

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did quite frequently during the month.

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And while we were there, they let

us know about this dog named Misty.

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And Misty was a really sweet to

humans pittie that had a really

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bad encounter with the dog warden.

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And because of that, they were

trying to find her a place outside

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of Jefferson County to adopt her

out because they were afraid that

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somebody was going to adopt her

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Dr G AI: for

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DrG: the wrong reasons.

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This was a high profile case and one

that got Steffen quite a bit of TV time.

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Hey guys, it's Keisha and welcome back

to Fetch Columbus on Hola TV, brought

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to you by Rascal Animal Hospital.

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Today we have an exclusive story

of a dog named Misty that get this

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was hit in the head with a shovel

by the Jefferson County dog warden.

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I do have to warn you that what we're

about to show you can be very disturbing.

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Joining me today, Dr.

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Gonzalez, woman in charge here

at the Rascal Animal Hospital

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and Steffen Baldwin, CEO of the

Animal Cruelty Task Force of Ohio.

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Steffen, I'm absolutely

at a loss for words.

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Can you tell us a little

bit about what we just saw?

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Sure.

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So the, uh, the video that you

watched is, uh, this dog here, Misty.

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She was getting, uh, beat over

the head with a shovel by the.

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Former, uh, dog warden of Jefferson

County, um, former dog warden.

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He was fired.

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Uh, basically there was an

incident at the shelter.

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Um, two dogs that weren't fixed were

playing together, something happened

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and after the fight was over, the

dog warden went and, and again, beat

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her over the head of the shovel.

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So that's when, uh, afterwards the

Rascal Animal Hospital came in and

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agreed to, to take, uh, Misty outta that

situation, care for her medical needs.

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And we've been working on her

rehabilitation ever since.

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Well, I'm so glad she's obviously

in better hands with you and Dr.

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Gonzalez, but can you tell us what's

next for Misty and how's she doing?

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Uh, Misty's doing great.

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She was actually labeled

as very dog aggressive.

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Um, and, and she's not, it

was a situational reactivity.

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She was reacting to the

situation that she was in.

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Once we took her outta that

situation, put her into a new

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environment, she stopped reacting.

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She now plays with six other dogs.

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She's very dog friendly.

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Um, she's very interested in cats.

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Um, but that can be a prey drive thing

that's very common with the breed,

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and people need to know that with the

breed in general, it's not something

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that necessarily needs to be fixed.

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So she's ready to be adopted.

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If she can go on our website, um, uh,

she'll be up there in about a week or so.

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Uh uh, ACTOH.org.

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Absolutely.

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Well, Dr.

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Gonzalez, I know Rascal plays

such a huge part in animal rescue

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and rehabilitating these dogs.

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So tell us how you guys were

involved with Misty's case.

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Well, we have been going to Jefferson

County for the last eight years with

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the Rascal Unit, so we've been doing

a lot of spay neuter there, and

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we have an excellent relationship

with the people at the shelter.

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And even though the dog warden was not

the right person for that job, the people

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that the volunteers there love Misty, and

unfortunately, because of the situation,

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they were unable to adopt her, so they

had put her on the euthanasia list.

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So the person in charge asked me if

I knew of somebody that could take

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over Misty, because they just really

wanted to give her another chance.

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That's when I contacted Steffen,

and so Rascal Charities took

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care of her medical needs.

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We got her spayed, made sure that

her vaccinations were taken care of

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and everything, and then handed her

over to Steffen to work with her

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so that she could get a good home.

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Well, Rascal Charities provide such great

care for these animals that otherwise, you

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know, would not have that type of care.

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So tell us how we can get involved

and give back to Rascal Charities.

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So anybody interested in, in helping

and sponsoring an animal, a facility,

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a group, or, or donation, they can

get information on our website,

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which is rascalcharities.org.

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Definitely.

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And Steffen, it's my understanding,

you have a website as well.

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We can get updates on Misty and all

the other dogs that you guys help.

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Yes.

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Um, that's ACTOH.org,

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so actoh.org.

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Thank you.

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Thank you on behalf of the

entire team here at Hola!

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to both Dr.

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Gonzalez and Steffen for all

you guys do for the animals.

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Dr G AI: Now Misty should

have had a happily ever after.

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However, because of Steffen's intentions,

she unfortunately did not, and we are

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going to be covering her and the other

dogs a little bit later in the podcast.

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Later in October, I told Steffen

that the Adams County Humane Society

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had another overwhelmed caregiver

hoarding case that needed help.

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We still had funds through Rascal

Charities to assist one more

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case, and the goal was to use this

to fundraise for future cases.

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This was another cat case, and we

found one dog which Stephanie Van

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Brimmer fostered through adoption.

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DrG: It was in Adams County, Ohio.

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Um, the Humane Society in Adams County

made us aware of this lady that had a lot

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of cats, um, that was trying to get help.

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The, the woman would bring us

cats on occasion to our spay

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clinics, but couldn't keep up.

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Um, same thing.

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Basically going in, evaluating

what was, what was happening, and

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then providing the spay neuter and

veterinary care to the animals.

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And then having, uh, Steffen deal with

the pla, the volunteers to get the

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animals and then placement of the animals.

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I said that he needed to make sure to

have somewhere for these cats to go.

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When we went the first time, Steffen

and a volunteer and myself drove

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down to Adams County to evaluate

the situation and talk to the lady.

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Um, it was a little bit

of a different situation.

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Um, it's rural Ohio farmland.

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So it wasn't, it was just people

dumping cats and that kind of stuff.

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So a lot different than the,

than the case in Marion.

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But similar, as far as what we needed to

do, go in, get the cats, get them fixed.

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Um, this lady, I don't believe that in

particular, she wanted to keep any cats.

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She needed the cats gone because the place

where the cats were at, she needed to

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tear it down to build a, to build a house.

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Um, so we, you know, we did all that.

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And then the day that, the day

of the, um, of the actual rescue

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effort, uh, Stephanie Van Brimmer was

there and one other, uh, volunteer,

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and she came in and I

said, where is he at?

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And they said, well, he

has other stuff to do.

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And I then, that was a little bit

annoying, but then I asked, does he

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have somewhere for the cats to go?

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And they said, no.

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Um, so Stephanie got him on the phone

and she was telling me he doesn't have

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anywhere to, for the cats to go yet.

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And at that point I said, then we're

not going because I can't do this again.

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And she said, no, no, no.

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He said that he'll take care of it.

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He'll, he'll, he'll get

something figured out.

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So we decided to go.

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So we brought the cats back to the

hospital and um, found out that

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there was nowhere for the cats to go.

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So then we had to, um,

board the cats again.

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I wanna say it was about

five to seven days.

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I was pretty mad.

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He told me that he had a, a room

in his house that he wasn't using.

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So he had found place for some of the

cats to go, but that he would just

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take the cats to, to his house until

he could find somewhere for them to go.

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Stephanie Van Brimmer: We volunteered

with, um, well, I shouldn't say we,

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I volunteered with Rascal Animal

Hospital or Rascal Charity and

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an a dog was surrendered to us.

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I fostered the dog and then the

dog after the dog was neutered.

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That was the other thing we always, um.

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Took care of the medical, like, so

vac making sure they were up to date

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on vaccines and then spay or neutered

them before we did any adoptions.

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And then, so I fostered

that dog to adoption.

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Dr G AI: And lesson learned a bit

late because now we had no funds.

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No, I did not.

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Because I didn't think that I

could trust him to do his part.

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Um, they got depleted and then we

didn't really have any, anything coming

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in to, to do other cases like that.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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Now do you agree that all those

cats, uh, found a home, but

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not as quickly as you'd hoped.

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Dr. G:

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I

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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don't know if the cats found a home.

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Okay.

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We, you weren't euthanizing the

cats that were not feral, right?

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Dr. G:

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Correct.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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Okay.

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And did Mr.

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Baldwin in fact tell you that he

found a few placements for the cats?

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Dr. G:

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Yes.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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Okay.

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Some of them was to him, some of them went

to, uh, someone, I believe up Delaware.

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Does that sound right?

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Dr. G:

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I

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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remember Citizens from in Action.

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Uh, but other than that, I don't remember

other places that the cats went to.

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What about the Farm Cat

Project up in Delaware?

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Do you remember that?

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Dr. G:

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No.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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What about DJ Jones?

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Do you remember him?

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Dr. G:

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Yes,

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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I remember DJ.

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Okay, so cats were placed with him.

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He assisted in placing some of those cats?

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Dr. G:

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I have no idea on that.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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Okay.

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What about the farm out in Bahalia?

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Dr. G:

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I do not know about that.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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You would agree that although

there logistically were some

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problems afterwards, that

that was an overall success?

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Dr. G:

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It was a success medically, it was not a

success for the placement of the animals.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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Well, you just said you don't know that.

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Dr. G:

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The animals were at our facility for days

and they were not supposed to be there.

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So that is not successful.

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It's not, it's not proper planning

when we knew what we were dealing with.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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Okay.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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Would you state your name

for the record, please?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Jennifer kasouf

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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Jennifer, in the summer of

:

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individual named Steffen Baldwin?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Yes.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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How did you know Steffen Baldwin?

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Jennifer Kasouf: I met

him through some friends.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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And did you, uh, did you have a dating

relationship with him at one point?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Yes.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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And do you, Jennifer, do you

remember approximately when that was?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Um,

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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it was July through September.

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You talked about assisting, um.

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Steffen Baldwin with, with the

care of other animals, cats.

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Do you remember that?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Yes.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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Alright.

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And you talked about these were cats

that were in a hoarding situation?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Yes.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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And you thought there were maybe 30 to 40

cats that were on the property, correct?

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Jennifer Kasouf: No,

like maybe 20, 30 tops.

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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Okay.

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And so how were the

cats being housed on Mr.

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Baldwin's property?

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Jennifer Kasouf: They

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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were in like a side room similar

to what would be used for a

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living room, um, in dog panels.

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So what were the conditions of the cats?

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Jennifer Kasouf: They

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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didn't have like proper litter boxes.

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They had like cardboard boxes and

the urine was soaking through it.

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Uh, there was no litter.

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Uh, they needed their

litter boxes changed.

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They needed food.

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There were kittens that

were still nursing.

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So what, if anything, did you do

to try and help the situation?

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Jennifer Kasouf: I

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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went to the store and got litter and

some litter boxes that would fit in

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the kennels Um, just to kind of get

their spaces cleaned up a little bit.

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And did you actually, um, take

any of the animals home, take

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any of the cats home with you?

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Jennifer Kasouf: I

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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took a mother cat and

her three baby kittens.

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Um, and why did you do that?

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Jennifer Kasouf: Because

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Melissa Chase, Union County Asst. Prosecutor:

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they were not doing well.

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The kittens were not thriving.

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They were very, very skinny.

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Mom wasn't producing enough milk.

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DrG: Jennifer's relationship with

Steffen was short-lived, mostly

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because she is somebody that

actually care about the animals.

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She's somebody with good morals,

with good values, and she also

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is not about to be manipulated or

emotionally and physically abused.

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As we can see from these conversations

that I had with her, he just shows exactly

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who he is when nobody else is watching.

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Dr G AI: All those cats that he took

in from that 80 cat hoarding situation

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or whatever, he split up between his

house and some other couple who had

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a broken down shed on the back of

their property, and the cats were

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piled up in cages at their house.

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I remember saying this is worse than

what they were living in before,

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you can't keep them like this.

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And he grabbed me by the

arm and said it's temporary.

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I still to this day have no idea what

he did with those cats, but I know

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he took the cats that were at his

house and dumped them on a property

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where a lady gave him a house.

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He never found homes for them.

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The only ones that ever made it out of his

house were the ones that I took because

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they were in such severe condition, and

some of them were nursing babies and I

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worked with Colony Cats, and Mona took

them in and helped me find homes for them.

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He abused a lot of women.

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He didn't get that far with me

I cut that shit real quick the

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first time he grabbed my arm when

I said something he didn't like.

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I ripped it out of his hand and was

like I promise that you will never

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do that to me again, because I will

ruin you, and he laughed at me but he

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never tried to do anything after that.

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but he started to get real

abusive with the girls after me .

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He'll tell everybody

that he broke up with me.

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And he came to my house

after we had separated.

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I had just had a kidney transplant.

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I had like 28 Staples in my stomach

and was laying in bed, and he came

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over to tell me that he was leaving me.

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I had broken up with him over a month

before because he couldn't date a sick

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girl and that my health issues would hold

him back from all the good he was doing.

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I laughed at him and told him to get the

hell out of my house, which he actually

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did and I was surprised about that .

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Now, let's go back for a second

to the last question I posted that

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the defense attorney asked me.

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Joshua Piestrop, Esq. Defense Attorney:

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You would agree that although

there logistically were some

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problems afterwards, that

that was an overall success?

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First, let me say, it looks like I'm

rolling my eyes and I don't think I was, I

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think I was just thinking about my answer.

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However, it is something to roll your

eyes at now knowing what happened then.

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So his question, was

it an overall success?

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And from my part, I thought that

it wasn't an overall success just

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because he was lazy, he did not

do what he was supposed to do.

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But now knowing that not only did

he not find immediate placement

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for these animals, but he never

really found them any placement.

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And this I didn't find out

until years and years later.

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We took these animals out of bad

situations and quite possibly put them in

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worse situations, and that is something

that is just completely unforgivable.

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I will give props to his attorney, though.

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He was trying to bring positives into

the things that he did, but unfortunately

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for him, there is just no positive.

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There is no way to appreciate what he did

when he caused so much harm in the end.

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DrG: All right.

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So we figure out.

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Hoarding cases are a no-no.

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Right?

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So maybe just dealing with

like the cruelty cases.

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So he hits me up, October 31st and

tells me that the A-S-P-C-A, the

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National A-S-P-C-A had contacted Logan

County Law Enforcement because of a

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complaint about some dying horses.

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And apparently this had

been going on for a while.

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So even though I have no experience with

horses, I was working with forensics.

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So you know, a skinny horse is a

skinny horse, so he asked me to go with

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him to take a look at these horses.

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We went, first of all,

it was late at night.

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It was really dark.

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So this is winter time, right?

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And it's Ohio, it's pitch, pitch black

at like four o'clock in the afternoon.

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So it was about 9:30 at night.

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We go to this place.

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There are no lights.

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The barn where these horses are no lights.

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Um, so I'm looking at these horses

and taking, taking pictures and

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taking videos as much as I can, and

we're talking to the, to the owner

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and the horses look horrible, right?

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So they're like really skinny.

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Their hoofs are overgrown, they're dirty.

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Their, the stalls are so dirty.

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So clearly these horses

are in poor condition.

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They're not being well kept, and then

he's talking to the owner and he's asking

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questions, and some of the questions

that he's asking are the right questions.

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But,

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there's just like a disconnect.

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He's asking a question, the owner's

giving him a crap answer and

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he's just taking it as, oh, okay.

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Uh, best example, he asked about the food.

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Where's the feed?

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Perfect question.

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Let's see where, where you're

keeping the food for these horses.

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Let's take a look.

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Let's make sure it's not moldy.

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Let's make sure that it's

being stored properly.

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And the, and the woman says,

yeah, I, I have the food, but

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uh, I mean, I can show it to you.

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I have receipts somewhere and he

just takes her word for it and it's

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like, oh, yeah, yeah, no problem.

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So at the end of this, we walk

away, the horses are clearly in

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bad shape and he just leaves it as

well, it doesn't look that bad, so

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we'll just keep an eye out on it.

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And, an eye was not kept on it.

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So a few days after the horse barn

investigation, um, he had reached out

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about how he had become a board member of

the Top of Ohio Animal Shelter, located

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in Logan County, in Bellefontaine, Ohio.

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And basically the shelter was having

a lot of problems, both financially

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and the care of the animals.

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So they had asked him to join as a

board member to help 'em out with

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basically restoring the shelter.

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And this was a great opportunity

because we had been talking about this

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whole shelter makeover type thing.

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:

So going into shelters, he would do

the, the animal part as far as the

390

:

training behavior and helping with the

shelter management since he boasted

391

:

about all of his shelter experience.

392

:

And then I would help with the medicine,

with the treatment, with the preventive

393

:

care, and then spay neuter of the animals.

394

:

Um, I am not going to go into detail about

TOPS because we have a full episode coming

395

:

on everything that happened with TOPS.

396

:

So definitely stay tuned for that.

397

:

In November of 2014 Steffen got his

golden goose Belle, AKA, the bait dog.

398

:

Steffen liked to use, Belle the bait dog

as a educational dog, but primarily it

399

:

was really a way to get notoriety, right?

400

:

Here's this dog that he is saying that was

a bait dog, had all these injuries, and

401

:

you know, just monetizing the sentiment,

the emotion of people for this poor dog.

402

:

Because, I mean, let's face it, Belle

looked horrible when she first went

403

:

into the, into the shelter in Cleveland.

404

:

Um, she definitely had been, you know,

destroyed, like her face, had a lot

405

:

of wounds and injuries, and they did

a fantastic job at patching her up.

406

:

The first time I saw her, she had some,

some minor wounds and stuff that were

407

:

still healing, but she looked amazing.

408

:

So we got her fixed and we got

her, you know, in good shape.

409

:

Uh, one of the things that Steffen

liked to say was about how she was

410

:

a bait dog, that she got beat up.

411

:

You know, it, she was used

for other dogs to train.

412

:

Very quickly we realized that

Belle was a shit starter, right?

413

:

So Belle is that little dog.

414

:

Uh, she was kinda a

chihuahua in a pit bull body.

415

:

So she would see another dog and

immediately she wanted to eat that dog.

416

:

So it became obvious to us that

perhaps she was not a bait dog.

417

:

Perhaps the fights that she got into.

418

:

She started them.

419

:

Um, while with Steffen, she got

into many, many, many fights.

420

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

My name is Jeanette Reever.

421

:

I am the program director of animal crimes

and investigations with Humane World for

422

:

Animals, and my specialty is dog fighting.

423

:

Dr. G:

424

:

How long have you been involved

in dog fighting investigations?

425

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

I did my first dog fighting case in

426

:

1996 and I became pretty involved,

or I should say full-time job was

427

:

16 years ago, when I started doing

just dog fighting investigations.

428

:

Dr. G:

429

:

We're going to be basically breaking down

this video that was on Daytime Columbus,

430

:

where Steffen Baldwin brought Belle, who

he famously called Belle The Bait Dog.

431

:

And first, um, let's talk about Bait Dogs.

432

:

What's the issue with bait dogs?

433

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Well, bait dogs is, is a common,

434

:

very, very common misconception

and myth in the dog fighting world.

435

:

When you look at dog fighting and you

can't train a dog to fight two to three

436

:

hours, you can't train a dog to push

through such excruciating pain and.

437

:

Just all the trauma that their

bodies are forced to endure.

438

:

So these dogs are bred specifically for

the purpose of fighting, and they're bred

439

:

for genes and genetics, such as gameness.

440

:

Gameness is when you have the drive

and desire to keep fighting even

441

:

when you're completely exhausted.

442

:

Uh, there's very recent case, um, where

there was undercover footage where the

443

:

dog had been fought, had a broken leg.

444

:

The back leg was pretty mangled and

the dog continued to push across

445

:

to get to her opponent to Texas.

446

:

So you can't train a dog like that.

447

:

And the problem is, is when people say

they claim that a dog is a bait dog,

448

:

it actually makes all other fighting

dogs look like they're monsters.

449

:

'cause they're thinking, I

just found this beautiful dog.

450

:

She's covered in scars.

451

:

She's got fresh and old

wounds and scarring.

452

:

I take her in the house,

she crawled up on the couch.

453

:

She's playing with my other dog.

454

:

This has gotta be a bait dog.

455

:

And actuality, if the, the fighting is

consistent with it on the, the scarring

456

:

and the injuries on the, the front

of the face and on the front legs,

457

:

that's consistent with dog fighting.

458

:

And the majority of the time,

these dogs are very, very

459

:

sweet, especially to people.

460

:

And it's not uncommon for these

dogs to get along with other

461

:

dogs in certain circumstances.

462

:

However, you take that exact same

dog and put him inside a fighting

463

:

pit or face that dog off with another

dog, like get them face to face,

464

:

then those dogs are gonna fight.

465

:

Um, so it's, it's a misconception

that people have, um, about that.

466

:

I can also add that Bait dogs,

um, just doesn't make sense.

467

:

And I use the analogy of Mike Tyson's

coming back out of retirement and

468

:

he's, he needs a sparring partner,

so he's not gonna ask me to come

469

:

and be his sparring partner.

470

:

He's going to have someone that's

gonna be able to withstand his blows,

471

:

withstand his hits, and actually

push back so he can be prepared

472

:

going into, into the fighting ring.

473

:

The bait dog is, is a, a tremendous

myth and lie that has been exacerbated

474

:

since, uh, the early eighties, it

really took off, um, and fueled

475

:

the, the flame of, of bait dogs.

476

:

Dr. G:

477

:

So in this case, like we, we know

that Steffen basically was using

478

:

the, the whole bait dog thing just

to get popularity and have people

479

:

be sad and show emotion for this dog

who in reality, you know, she got into

480

:

a ton of fights even after he got her.

481

:

So she's just, uh, like you said,

kinda like a gamey pittie, right?

482

:

Like a dog that mm-hmm.

483

:

Another dog.

484

:

And she is just reared up and ready to

go and unfortunately she's small and

485

:

she's on the losing side of of things.

486

:

All right, so let's go over this video

about Steffen and Belle The Bait Dog.

487

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus:

For quite a few years now, Pit

488

:

Bulls have gotten a bad rep.

489

:

The breed is thought to be full

of aggressive, violent dogs, but

490

:

there are groups that are dedicated

to changing that stereotype.

491

:

As part of a Find a Friend segment today

sponsored by Rascal Animal Hospital.

492

:

I'm happy to have Steffen Baldwin back

with me, the director for ACT Ohio,

493

:

which is the Animal Cruelty Task Force.

494

:

So welcome back Steffen.

495

:

Steffen Baldwin: Thank you for having me.

496

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus:

First of all, I wanna talk about this

497

:

gorgeous, people friendly, amazing

little dog I have with you today.

498

:

Steffen Baldwin: Yeah.

499

:

So this is Belle, and Belle

came to us from Cleveland.

500

:

I got a call from the dog warden up

in Cleveland, the chief dog warden.

501

:

And, uh, they had found her, uh, through

part of an investigation where they're

502

:

looking at dog fighting organizations.

503

:

And, uh, she is what you

typically know as a bait dog.

504

:

She was bred smaller and used specifically

for fighting dogs to practice on.

505

:

Her teeth have been filed down straight

across, so she can't fight back.

506

:

Dr. G:

507

:

All right, so let's go over

two things right there.

508

:

So bait dogs are bred smaller

so that they can't fight back.

509

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Yes.

510

:

Uh, and I think one of the biggest

misconceptions also is people think that

511

:

that fighting dogs gonna be these big

muscular dogs when in actuality there

512

:

are typically around 36 to 45 pounds.

513

:

Um, so they're very much

on the smaller side.

514

:

So yeah, that's, yeah,

that, that's not correct.

515

:

Dr. G:

516

:

And that's one of the things that I

didn't know until I started working

517

:

with you guys, actually with the dog

fighting investigations, because every

518

:

Pit Bull that I see, I always say if

it's a Pit Bull, it weighs 60 pounds.

519

:

Right?

520

:

Because the, the normal pet Pit

Bull is usually around 60 pounds.

521

:

But then when I went to that

first dog fighting case, every

522

:

pittie was like 30 to 40 pounds.

523

:

So that's actually the, the

common weight for them, right?

524

:

Exactly.

525

:

Yes.

526

:

And then number two, their teeth are

filed down so they can't fight back.

527

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

And we hear this a lot.

528

:

And if you look at, at majority

of dogs, especially if they're on

529

:

a chain or if they're in a barren

environment, they'll, they'll become

530

:

frustrated they'll become bored.

531

:

So they'll start chewing on the

chain, start chewing on rock.

532

:

Or if you have a dog, like one

of my dogs, he is a ball dog.

533

:

He is obsessed with balls, so it

actually wears down the teeth and people

534

:

mistakenly believe that these dog's

teeth have been filed down when in all

535

:

actuality they're actually worn down.

536

:

There was a board certified veterinary

dentist, um, did a talk about this and

537

:

said, no, it's absolutely not filing down.

538

:

This is from erosion and wear from

them just being frustrated and

539

:

chewing on chains and rocks and such.

540

:

Dr. G:

541

:

So the other thing that I wanna bring

up is, is it true that a pittie, that

542

:

a fighting pittie that has their teeth

filed down, can they not cause damage?

543

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Well, actually there was a, one of

544

:

the, uh, very, very famous two time

convicted dog fighter Ed Faron.

545

:

Ed Faron had a dog, um, by the name

of Vader and Vader was, was Jet Black.

546

:

He was an an older pit bull.

547

:

There was, uh, someone that went to

his property to purchase a dog from,

548

:

from, uh, from Ed Faron, and he laughed

about Vader and he said, what's that?

549

:

You know that that junk, why is

that junk on the yard, basically?

550

:

And he said, that's, that dog will

take, take down any dog you have.

551

:

He took one of his dogs, the dog

fighter, took it out of his vehicle,

552

:

turned him loose, and Vader had no teeth

because he had just worn them all down

553

:

to there were just nubs in the gum.

554

:

He actually killed that dog.

555

:

He actually went over there and killed

the dog just with the sheer pressure

556

:

and just holding on and basically

strangling the dog, if you will.

557

:

And Ed loved telling that story

about how he killed that other dog.

558

:

So while of course they do need the teeth

just 'cause it causes so, so much more

559

:

trauma and damage to their opponent in

the, in the fighting pit, they still

560

:

have other methods in which they can, you

know, that they can still take these dogs

561

:

down and overpower and kill these dogs.

562

:

Dr. G:

563

:

So basically it would be, it, it

would not really help to do that.

564

:

Like the dog would still hurt,

like a, a, a so-called bait dog

565

:

would still be able to hurt one

of these high price fighting dogs.

566

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Right?

567

:

Absolutely.

568

:

And uh, and the other thing is, is,

um, it's just, it's silly when you

569

:

think about a bait dog because a Jack

Russell Terrier can kill a poodle.

570

:

You know, it's, it

just, it proves nothing.

571

:

You want it, you want an animal when

you're, when you're testing an animal,

572

:

you wanna make sure that he is, he or she

is with an opponent that's going to be at

573

:

least, uh, at the same quality or a little

bit better to see how he or she reacts.

574

:

Dr. G:

575

:

All right, let's keep moving on.

576

:

Steffen Baldwin: And of course all the

scars and, and the pictures of how she

577

:

came, uh, show kind of her, her history.

578

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus:

Her history.

579

:

And she has one.

580

:

We're gonna look at some photos.

581

:

They may be a bit disturbing to

some folks because she was put

582

:

through a very rough life really,

when she was first brought up.

583

:

Steffen Baldwin: I mean, to

put it bluntly, it was hell,

584

:

uh, you know, that every single

day she woke up to get beat up.

585

:

That was her life.

586

:

So, and she's come so far

now that, that we can use her

587

:

as an ambassador in schools.

588

:

Um, and she's just a

fantastic, fantastic dog now.

589

:

Dr. G:

590

:

All right.

591

:

So does it make sense that a bait dog

would be able to survive day after

592

:

day after day of getting beat up?

593

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

No.

594

:

Absolutely not.

595

:

Um, even fighting dogs, they're not

gonna, they're not gonna fight them.

596

:

They're not gonna roll these

dogs into the short schooling.

597

:

They're not gonna do this every single

day because you're eventually gonna

598

:

break down the dog's spirit, and

they're, they're not gonna do well.

599

:

You wanna make sure your dog is seasoned,

meaning that he, that he or she is, has

600

:

been rolled, has got confidence, he's

got the qualities you're looking for.

601

:

Dr. G:

602

:

So another thing would be the

location of the injuries, right?

603

:

So a dog that, in my mind, if a dog is a

bait dog, it means that it doesn't wanna

604

:

fight and that it's gonna be submissive.

605

:

And those are gonna be different

types of bite wounds compared to

606

:

what we're seeing here, right?

607

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Yes, exactly.

608

:

And, and studies have shown, and Dr.

609

:

G, I know, you've testified on this

before, um, is that, that there is a

610

:

bite inhibition for dogs that are not

genetically bred for, for dog fighting.

611

:

There's a dogs that will

have a bite inhibition.

612

:

Um, and when you look at these dogs

that have been bred specifically for,

613

:

to breed out the bite inhibition and

to, to really give these devastating

614

:

bites, it's gonna be so much deeper.

615

:

The trauma's gonna be so much more,

and the placement, like you said,

616

:

is gonna be completely different.

617

:

Dr. G:

618

:

All right.

619

:

Moving along.

620

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus:

To be a lot of treatment and

621

:

recovery that she went through.

622

:

So what kinds of things did

it take to get her to the dog?

623

:

She is today?

624

:

Steffen Baldwin: Definitely.

625

:

We actually have some YouTube videos

up on our ACT Ohio YouTube page that go

626

:

through some of the weeks of her rehab.

627

:

'cause it was some of

the most extensive rehab.

628

:

Um, and we really had to dial everything

back with her and use less senses.

629

:

So we started with her sense of smell.

630

:

She couldn't see other dogs, she couldn't

touch other dogs, but she could smell

631

:

them and, and being in a different

part of the house, different room.

632

:

And we worked really on building her

relationship and our bond with the dog

633

:

and building her trust level while she

slowly got desensitized to the idea

634

:

that other dogs aren't gonna hurt her,

other dogs aren't gonna attack her.

635

:

And

636

:

Dr. G:

637

:

so can you desensitize a fighting dog?

638

:

Or how is it that they would just be

okay with some dogs and not with others?

639

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Um, if, if I could just mention

640

:

one real quick thing, um, that I.

641

:

I wanted to point out is if you look

at her legs, she had no scarring or

642

:

injuries on her front legs, yet her

face has heavy scarring that would

643

:

not be consistent with dog fighting.

644

:

That's one thing I wanted to point out.

645

:

Um, the second is, uh, we like to

say that dogs that come from dog

646

:

fighting raids are, are victims.

647

:

They have, uh, PTSD, and so

you have to treat them as such.

648

:

So he's correct in that one

portion where you want, don't wanna

649

:

overwhelm the dog, like any dog

comes out of a traumatic situation.

650

:

But you can't desensitize them.

651

:

What you can do is, is work

on managing a dog's gaminess.

652

:

Like if, if you have a dog that's

reactive, and this could be if

653

:

the German Shepherd, fighting dog,

whatever, if they have to be managed.

654

:

Um, but you can't, you can never take

that, that, uh, that trait out of them.

655

:

You can never take that

gameness out of them.

656

:

Dr. G:

657

:

Can it be, because, you know, he

shows the, we just saw the picture.

658

:

Let me back it up a bit.

659

:

As far as you know, the dog just laying

there, she looks a little stoned.

660

:

Yeah.

661

:

Laying there with, with two

other dogs, which I also know

662

:

they're two, uh, male dogs.

663

:

Um, two Dobermans, and she's

doing okay with those dogs.

664

:

But then there were other dogs in the

house, and I believe all of them were

665

:

pities or pittie mixes, and those were

the ones that she got into fights with.

666

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Right.

667

:

And so, uh, dogs are individuals, so

some dogs just will not get along.

668

:

And, um, a lot of, uh, breed specific

like, uh, you know, Pit Bull rescue type

669

:

groups, a lot of 'em won't let you adopt.

670

:

If you have a female in the home,

they won't, they, they prefer

671

:

to have opposite sex when you

have, uh, a Pit Bull in the home.

672

:

And it's a good idea if you have, um, dogs

that are, uh, especially game bred dogs.

673

:

Again, each dog's different, but it

is a good idea if you have a game-bred

674

:

Pit Bull to have a male and a female

versus two males or versus two females.

675

:

But you know, each dog is

different on how, you know,

676

:

how they, how can they react.

677

:

Steffen Baldwin: We basically reshape

her understanding of the world, and

678

:

that's what we do with a lot of dogs.

679

:

But she was probably our

most extensive rehab case.

680

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus: And

that's a lot of the kind of emotional

681

:

recovery, obviously, physically

she had to go through a lot too.

682

:

Steffen Baldwin: Sure.

683

:

Exactly.

684

:

I mean, you can't really tell from now.

685

:

I mean, you can see the scars of

course, but her jaw was falling apart.

686

:

They had to do reconstructive

surgery to put it back together.

687

:

She was emaciated.

688

:

She was, you know, she was

basically left for dead almost.

689

:

So,

690

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus:

And that's kind of where

691

:

your relationships come in.

692

:

I know you work with Rascal Animal

Hospital, obviously, and other

693

:

groups that kind of help you

when you have a case like this.

694

:

Steffen Baldwin: Correct?

695

:

Yes.

696

:

So we got the call from the

Cleveland Animal Control.

697

:

Um, they, we were the only group that

they trusted to take this dog because

698

:

of her dog issues, because of her

fear and what she had gone through.

699

:

So we picked her up, we drove her down

to Rascal Animal Hospital here in Dublin.

700

:

Uh, and Dr.

701

:

G took great care of her physically.

702

:

So, and that's our partnership with

Rascal, that they heal the, the, the

703

:

body and we heal the mind basically.

704

:

And then we have a whole dog.

705

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus: Okay.

706

:

So she has since, as you

said, become an ambassador.

707

:

So what does that mean?

708

:

Steffen Baldwin: Um, well, you

know, we take Belle out a lot.

709

:

She goes to a lot of schools with

us where we teach dog safety.

710

:

We just finished up National Dog

Bite Prevention Week last week.

711

:

Um, children are the number

one group to be bitten by dogs.

712

:

And when they are bitten,

they're the number one group

713

:

to require hospitalization.

714

:

It's just a statistic.

715

:

It's a fact.

716

:

And it's because children

don't understand dog behavior.

717

:

They don't understand what will

set a dog off, and they don't

718

:

know how to be safe around a dog.

719

:

So we take bell out because

she loves kids so much.

720

:

She loves people so much, and she goes

out and, and we teach children about

721

:

dog behavior, how a dog thinks, why a

dog's gonna wanna run up to you and smell

722

:

you, first of all, you know, why that

is an important thing to do and how the

723

:

children can stay safe in that regard.

724

:

So we can hopefully bring

down some of those numbers of

725

:

dog bites across the country.

726

:

Robin Haynes, Host Daytime Columbus: And

when you take her into a school, I can

727

:

imagine the kid's response is just like,

this is the nicest, friendliest dog.

728

:

She'd never bite me.

729

:

But you have to teach them that even when

they seem like they are not threatening,

730

:

there could be something that happens.

731

:

Right?

732

:

Steffen Baldwin: Exactly.

733

:

Sure.

734

:

And, and it couldn't be their,

not just their behavior.

735

:

Sometimes they have a medical problem.

736

:

You know, all dogs are individuals.

737

:

They all are, are, are deserving

of space if they need space.

738

:

So, you know, that's where we teach

them to ask for permission and make

739

:

sure that the dog wants to be petted

and then go through the proper steps

740

:

to not scare the dog and set them off.

741

:

And there's so many little

things that go through.

742

:

This process that we all think is

common sense that so many children

743

:

just don't know and so many

parents just don't know either.

744

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

No, he is actually, uh, he is

745

:

actually correct in what he was saying

about, you know, asking permission.

746

:

And um, and like we've said,

um, each dog's an individual.

747

:

So he is actually pretty

on point with, with that.

748

:

Dr. G:

749

:

Yeah, one of the, one of the things

is he used Belle to go to schools

750

:

and to teach kids about biting and,

and that kind of stuff, but after a

751

:

while he had to put a muzzle on her,

which really, at this point, yeah,

752

:

at this point he was not showing it.

753

:

But I think that he was concerned

about how she was handling like all the

754

:

attention and, and that kind of stuff.

755

:

Right.

756

:

And normally fighting dogs tend to

not really show much aggression, if

757

:

any, at all against people, right?

758

:

Janette Reever, Dog Fighting Specialist:

Exactly.

759

:

Yeah.

760

:

They're, they're bred specifically

to have that bred out of them.

761

:

Um, there have been a handful in fighting

history, um, , Garner's Chinaman for

762

:

one was notoriously a biting dog.

763

:

Um, he had, he had human bite, but it's

typically speaking, it's frowned upon

764

:

because you we're in the pit together,

we have to be able to touch, um, my

765

:

dog or your dog when we pick them up.

766

:

So, um, if one, if your dog bit

me or bit you or whatever, you

767

:

automatically forfeit that fight.

768

:

DrG: The.

769

:

The unfortunate and sad thing is that

Belle started a lot of fights and because

770

:

again, she was Steffen's golden goose, he

was not about to say that it was Belle's

771

:

fault, and he was not about to get rid

of her, adopt her out or euthanize her.

772

:

She was the dog that, I mean, he

was known for Belle the Bait Dog.

773

:

He even wrote a book about her.

774

:

What he did was he started blaming the

other dogs for the injuries and the,

775

:

and the problems that she got into.

776

:

And sadly, other dogs were euthanized

because of her picking fights with them.

777

:

So yeah, he writes this book called

Belle and the Hotdog Man, who is

778

:

supposed to be, I've never read it.

779

:

Um.

780

:

It's supposed to be this children's

book about, you know, the, his

781

:

relationship with his dog, which like

his relationship with most every dog was

782

:

surround, was revolving around hot dogs.

783

:

Gordon Shell: So one of the techniques

that Steffen uses is he tries to pretend

784

:

like he's not even interested in the dog.

785

:

He'll turn his attention away

from the dog and then allow

786

:

the dog to come out on its own.

787

:

And, um, this dog does not

seem to be treat motivated.

788

:

So he's got hot dogs, which most

dogs would, uh, would go right after.

789

:

But this dog doesn't seem to be

interested in a hot dog, even

790

:

as it's sitting in his bed.

791

:

So we'll see if Stefan's gonna

be able to do this on his own.

792

:

DrG: Um, one of the really aggravating

things is that going into Amazon, it shows

793

:

that I left a review as a veterinarian.

794

:

I left a review about

how great this book is.

795

:

I was barely, in speaking terms with him

and him or one of his friends, but let's

796

:

face it, him, uh, just pretended to be me

and created a, a false review of his book.

797

:

We are gonna talk more in detail

about Belle's adventures, or perhaps

798

:

misadventures when we have our

episode dedicated to the stories

799

:

of the animals that Steffen failed.

800

:

So now comes December, and this is

December of:

801

:

uh, to tell me that he has a problem

with a foster dog named Winston.

802

:

Winston is being fostered by

Sarah Winfield, and according

803

:

to Steffen, Winston has attacked

her son a couple of times.

804

:

Which realistically that

is, that's not acceptable.

805

:

Sara Winfield: The first dog

that he brought me was Winston.

806

:

Um, when he showed up his,

he said, you know, he told me

807

:

Winston had been rehabilitated.

808

:

The only reason he had him

that he was a drug dog, or he

809

:

was a, a dog at a drug house.

810

:

Like they were using him for

protection of a drug house, and

811

:

Winston seemed very friendly.

812

:

I had a, um, English bulldog,

um, in the house with me.

813

:

And then I had three kids and I

had, you know, my house was the

814

:

house where all the kids are coming

in and out, that kind of stuff.

815

:

Um, so Winston was great.

816

:

Like he was, he got along with him,

but then he started slowly really,

817

:

really loving Tyler, which is my son

that Steffen was the lunch buddy too.

818

:

so that, that dog started really

ta taking possession of Tyler.

819

:

And I didn't know enough about animal

behavior at the time that I knew.

820

:

The things that I, that were,

I was witnessing weren't okay.

821

:

Um, and then it started with like,

you know, I think the first time

822

:

something happened, Steffen walked in.

823

:

I had said I wanted to adopt

him because I love the dog.

824

:

Loved Tyler, the kids loved the dog.

825

:

He was getting along great with bubbles.

826

:

We had a cat in the house.

827

:

The dog was getting

along great with, and I.

828

:

I had wanted to adopt him, and Steffen

brought up for some paperwork for it.

829

:

And when I opened the door,

he went after Steffen.

830

:

And Steffen like jumped out the door,

shut the door, and he said, let me

831

:

take him for a run for a minute.

832

:

And like tried to do the

exercise thing with him and Stef.

833

:

And uh, the dog was fine with that.

834

:

He calmed down.

835

:

I crate him.

836

:

We exchanged paperwork.

837

:

He's like, that's kind of concerning.

838

:

And then, um, I think I, the dog was

in the car with me and I pulled up

839

:

to pick the kids up at school and the

principal was like, oh, can I pet him?

840

:

And she reached in and he lunged at her.

841

:

Um, then, uh, um, my brother-in-law walked

in the house and Tyler was standing there,

842

:

the dog lunged at, um, my brother-in-law.

843

:

So there was lots of

grid lunging going on.

844

:

He jumped at my mom another time.

845

:

Um, so I was becoming very concerned with

these behaviors and I called Steffen,

846

:

like, these behaviors are going on.

847

:

He is like, well, let

me come work with him.

848

:

Well, every time he came to the

house, Winston would become so

849

:

enraged, like Stefan couldn't even

walk in the same room with him.

850

:

He tried to tear the crate apart.

851

:

Um, so he was like instructing

me on things to do.

852

:

That went on for probably

like a week or two weeks.

853

:

And I'm like, you know, I really

can't have this dog in my house.

854

:

He's like 130 pounds.

855

:

I've got kids in and outta my house.

856

:

He's lunging at men that come in my house.

857

:

This is a problem.

858

:

And um, Steffen told me, well, I'm gonna

take him down to Rascal to have him

859

:

evaluated health at a health evaluation.

860

:

And then, um, probably

take him home with me.

861

:

But I, we couldn't get

Winston into Steffen's car.

862

:

Stephan didn't have at the time, he didn't

have one of those barriers or anything.

863

:

And Winston would try to attack Steffen.

864

:

So I said, I'll just drive him down there.

865

:

So I drove him down here, there, walked

him to the back door, and then a staff

866

:

member, um, met us and I thought,

you know, he's just going to like,

867

:

get checked out, make sure he doesn't

have something health-wise going

868

:

on that's causing these behaviors.

869

:

And, you know, I felt horrible that I had

failed this dog and the stuff like that.

870

:

So for years with, with Winston,

I just felt guilty that I had

871

:

done something wrong, that I

could have done something more.

872

:

Um, and I never even found out

until after the trial I testified

873

:

and I went in and pulled up all the

documents and started reading it.

874

:

And he had never told me that Winston's

triggers were kids and other dogs.

875

:

And he placed Winston in my house.

876

:

That was a house where all the kids came

in and out and there were other dogs.

877

:

DrG: So irresponsible 'cause it's

putting your kids in danger and he knows.

878

:

Sara Winfield: And I had no clue.

879

:

I had no clue.

880

:

And they, I, I have, I

and my kids were under 12.

881

:

They weren't older or, you know,

something where they could handle

882

:

a dog fight or something like that.

883

:

DrG: So basically he texted me to say.

884

:

You know, Winston went after,

uh, the kid's uncle, and I'm

885

:

really concerned about it.

886

:

It's not the first time that he has

demonstrated aggression and I need

887

:

to bring him in to put him down.

888

:

Um, so I was like, okay, you know,

because again, kinda like you, I

889

:

understand behavioral euthanasia,

and if a dog is being a danger,

890

:

then they need to be euthanized.

891

:

And he was bringing him in and then he

says, well, the foster is bringing him in.

892

:

I need you to tell her

that it's just for an exam.

893

:

Why?

894

:

Sara Winfield: He had

me go to the back door.

895

:

DrG: Yeah.

896

:

So I said, no, no, beat me.

897

:

I'm not lying to the foster.

898

:

Because he was originally the way that he

told me he was just gonna send you with

899

:

the dog and he wasn't gonna even come in.

900

:

Sara Winfield: He's gonna make me un

unknownly drive a dog to his death without

901

:

DrG: Yeah, basically.

902

:

So he, yeah.

903

:

So I told him that, and then he was

like, okay, well I'll bring the dog in.

904

:

And then it was like, well,

I'll come in with her.

905

:

And I said, okay, I understand,

but we're still gonna let her know

906

:

that the dog is being euthanized.

907

:

And then I never saw you.

908

:

Sara Winfield: Yeah.

909

:

He, he had me come to the back door.

910

:

He is like, you're good.

911

:

And he had the staff member take the dog.

912

:

And I'm like, okay.

913

:

And I just thought that was procedure.

914

:

I didn't have enough information at

the time, so I was just like, okay.

915

:

DrG: Yeah.

916

:

Well, and I remember that.

917

:

You know, so I told him,

no, we're not saying that.

918

:

He brings him in.

919

:

And I said, did you tell the

foster that he's being euthanized?

920

:

And he said, yes.

921

:

And I was like, okay.

922

:

So then we bring the dog to the back and

he seemed fine, but I remember that we

923

:

put a muzzle on him just as a precaution.

924

:

And as we were working with

him, he got really aggressive.

925

:

And, and at that point I was like,

yeah, this is, you know, it's a

926

:

dog that it's, okay one second.

927

:

And it's not okay, another second.

928

:

Right is really dangerous.

929

:

And nobody was doing anything.

930

:

I mean, we did put a muzzle

on him, so maybe that was,

931

:

you know, concerning for him.

932

:

Yeah.

933

:

Sara Winfield: So that's

why I didn't have a problem.

934

:

Like Winston, Winston was set up to fail.

935

:

I think he could have succeeded.

936

:

Um, but he was set up to fail

by Steffen, by his placement.

937

:

But at that point, he had shown so

much aggression that I didn't have

938

:

a problem with it because I was very

concerned that he would hurt somebody.

939

:

I mean, he did, he was, I mean,

he did give you accurately.

940

:

He went after the uncle, he

went after a male friend of

941

:

mine that came in the house.

942

:

He had went after several

kids and my mother.

943

:

So yeah, it had been a, but he was

also set up to fail by Steffen.

944

:

So, you know, a few days later

I reached out to him because

945

:

at the time, I'm just a foster.

946

:

I'm not really involved with ACT Ohio.

947

:

I reached out and said, how's he doing?

948

:

Oh, he's resting at a crate at my house.

949

:

And I didn't see anything on social media,

didn't see anything on social media.

950

:

DrG: I thought that me saying

to him, we're not lying.

951

:

We need to be upfront

about what's happening.

952

:

And then him telling me.

953

:

I talked to her, they understand, you

know, they're just really sad about it.

954

:

He never told me that.

955

:

Okay, that's fine.

956

:

Sara Winfield: And I found

that out on the back end.

957

:

I mean, I, and I forced him to, and I

think that's why he started to trust me

958

:

because I wasn't mad when he did tell me,

like I understood behavioral euthanasia.

959

:

And I, and I told him, I just said

like, why didn't you just be honest

960

:

with me about what you were doing?

961

:

Like, I don't know if he thought

I would try to keep the dog.

962

:

I don't know if he thought I would

slam him, probably more concerned

963

:

about me slamming him on social media.

964

:

'cause he was more concerned

about that than anything.

965

:

But there, there was

no reason to lie to me.

966

:

I, I never gave him a reason to lie to me.

967

:

DrG: I don't think that it

was as much a matter of making

968

:

you mad or anything like that.

969

:

It was, you know, later on with

everything that's happened, it became

970

:

clear that he just didn't wanna tell all

his followers that he failed the dog.

971

:

Right, because he kept talking about

his a hundred percent placement rate and

972

:

how he can rehabilitate any dog, right?

973

:

And then all of a sudden, here's

this dog that he can't rehabilitate.

974

:

Sara Winfield: Most of

'em he didn't even try.

975

:

DrG: This, this with Winston is

the beginning of what becomes a

976

:

pattern and sadly not a pattern

that was immediately obvious.

977

:

The main reason for that is he is

fostering and getting all of these

978

:

animals that are very high risk, right?

979

:

Uh, at least.

980

:

According to him, these are animals

that are highly aggressive, that are,

981

:

you know, have bitten, have a history

of attacking, biting, even mauling.

982

:

So the, the chances that some of these

dogs are sadly broken is pretty high

983

:

from the way that he was explaining it.

984

:

Uh, the reason I say that is

that not all is how it seems.

985

:

And again, we are going to learn

more about that on the dog episode.

986

:

Now it's almost the end of the

year and you know, we're figuring

987

:

it's gonna be pretty uneventful.

988

:

He does take in an old dog, a

senior dog that ends up being

989

:

heartworm positive, named Shadow.

990

:

So we did help with that dog,

with getting him evaluated

991

:

and getting treatment set up.

992

:

And then he reaches out,

993

:

, Merry Christmas.

994

:

He sends a message, Merry Christmas.

995

:

To which I'm saying looking forward

to an awesome:

996

:

shit done and done right, right?

997

:

And he then proceeds to

tell me that Misty, remember

998

:

Misty from Jefferson County?

999

:

Yeah.

:

00:47:06,654 --> 00:47:08,964

Misty got loose that morning.

:

00:47:09,144 --> 00:47:12,924

Uh, and that she got picked up by

the Union County Humane Society.

:

00:47:12,954 --> 00:47:14,814

And according to him, you

know, she gets scanned.

:

00:47:15,474 --> 00:47:17,124

It was, uh, linked back to him.

:

00:47:17,124 --> 00:47:22,014

So he got called, but they won't

release her until Saturday, and then

:

00:47:22,014 --> 00:47:25,764

he has to pay some fines and he is

all pissed off because clearly this

:

00:47:25,764 --> 00:47:30,144

is a personal vendetta by the director

because she hates him because, uh,

:

00:47:30,234 --> 00:47:34,314

you know, he took that place and he

changed it over and then he left.

:

00:47:34,527 --> 00:47:36,447

Mary Beth Brown: There's

no reason to be vindictive.

:

00:47:36,497 --> 00:47:40,877

If you moved into the county and, and you

let your dog run loose all the time and

:

00:47:40,877 --> 00:47:46,127

it was almost getting hit by a car and

causing car accidents or causing, causing

:

00:47:46,127 --> 00:47:51,557

people to be afraid, then, you know, at

some point you would get a ticket too.

:

00:47:52,397 --> 00:47:56,297

I wonder if it was, I don't remember

if he got a ticket for a dog at large

:

00:47:56,297 --> 00:47:57,797

or if it was for failure license.

:

00:47:57,947 --> 00:48:01,187

You know, when you're, when you're

running the Humane Society and it

:

00:48:01,187 --> 00:48:05,117

says in the Ohio Revised Code that,

that no dog will be released from the

:

00:48:05,117 --> 00:48:07,097

shelter without a current license.

:

00:48:07,517 --> 00:48:12,887

You're enforcing that by running the

shelter and returning lost dogs to

:

00:48:12,887 --> 00:48:16,517

their owner, you're selling those

dog licenses and, and collecting

:

00:48:16,517 --> 00:48:17,837

the penalties and all that.

:

00:48:17,837 --> 00:48:20,267

So you, you have to be above that.

:

00:48:20,567 --> 00:48:20,568

Dr. G:

:

00:48:20,568 --> 00:48:23,507

And you can track a dog

down by the license, right?

:

00:48:23,507 --> 00:48:27,977

Because he said that the way that

Misty was linked back to him was

:

00:48:28,067 --> 00:48:31,517

because of her microchip, not

because of the license since, yeah.

:

00:48:31,607 --> 00:48:34,577

Mary Beth Brown: And, um, I

mean, the dog license, you can

:

00:48:34,637 --> 00:48:36,467

look that up on your cell phone.

:

00:48:36,517 --> 00:48:40,302

I, I always have that information

available to me in our database.

:

00:48:41,337 --> 00:48:44,357

So plus the tag is, is actually visual.

:

00:48:44,357 --> 00:48:47,357

They, they change shape

and color every year.

:

00:48:47,357 --> 00:48:50,057

All dogs must be displaying

a current dog license.

:

00:48:50,447 --> 00:48:50,448

Dr. G:

:

00:48:50,448 --> 00:48:54,977

And I have that, you know, that

message from him saying you, because

:

00:48:54,977 --> 00:48:56,777

he always plays himself as a victim.

:

00:48:57,287 --> 00:49:04,037

So I have that message of him being

like, yeah, Misty got loose and I can't

:

00:49:04,037 --> 00:49:08,507

get her back because I have to pay fees

and it's just this vindictive stuff.

:

00:49:09,977 --> 00:49:12,047

Mary Beth Brown: Well, but I

don't, I don't assign the fees

:

00:49:12,052 --> 00:49:14,327

and, and I don't get anything.

:

00:49:14,627 --> 00:49:16,967

There's, it's just part of my job.

:

00:49:17,197 --> 00:49:18,247

DrG: Merry Christmas.

:

00:49:18,247 --> 00:49:20,647

This is how:

:

00:49:21,044 --> 00:49:27,104

So quite a bit happened in:

one of the biggest things that we did

:

00:49:27,104 --> 00:49:30,614

together was the Top of Ohio Shelter.

:

00:49:30,944 --> 00:49:37,484

So next episode, we are going to spend

going through TOPS, going through his

:

00:49:37,484 --> 00:49:43,094

role initially as a board member, then

as executive director, and then his

:

00:49:43,184 --> 00:49:46,484

y dramatic exit at the end of:

:

00:49:46,934 --> 00:49:47,534

So.

:

00:49:47,984 --> 00:49:51,434

Come back and listen, and as

always, thank you for listening

:

00:49:51,434 --> 00:49:52,424

and thank you for caring.

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About the Podcast

The Animal Welfare Junction
Veterinary Forensics
The Animal Welfare Junction is a podcast developed to bring awareness to different topics in animal welfare. The host, Michelle Gonzalez (Dr. G) is a veterinarian who provides affordable veterinary care in the State of Ohio, and also a Forensic Veterinarian helping with the investigation and prosecution of cases of animal cruelty and neglect.
The topics presented are based on the experiences of Dr. G and our guests and include discussions about real cases, humane projects, and legal issues that affect animals and the community. Due to the nature of the discussion, listener discretion is advised as some topics may be too strong for some listeners.

About your host

Profile picture for Alba Gonzalez

Alba Gonzalez

Michelle González (DrG) was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Her passion growing up was to become a veterinarian. She obtained a B.S. in Zoology at Michigan State University and the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at The Ohio State University, followed by a 1-yr Internship in Medicine, Surgery, Emergency and Critical Care at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2006 she founded the Rascal Unit, a mobile clinic offering accesible and affordable sterilization, and wellness services throughout the State of Ohio.
Dr. G is involved in many aspects of companion veterinary medicine including education, shelter assistance and help to animals that are victims of cruelty and neglect.
DrG completed a Master’s degree in Veterinary Forensics from the University of Florida and a Master’s in Forensic Psychology from Southern New Hampshire University. She is currently enrolled at the University of Florida Forensic Science program. She assists Humane organizations and animal control officers in the investigation, evaluation, and prosecution of cases of animal cruelty and neglect.