Episode 6

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Published on:

13th Oct 2025

Season One: State vs Steffen Baldwin / Episode 6: The Con Whisperer

Season One: State vs Steffen Baldwin / Episode 6: The Con Whisperer

We will be diving into the stories of Baldwin's victims. In this episode, we discuss:

  • Chesty
  • Romeo
  • Belle
  • PeeWee, and Coco

Some of these dogs survived him, others were not as lucky. We want to share their stories and that of the people who cared about them.

Throughout the next episodes, we will talk about the animal and human victims of Steffen Baldwin. These episodes include interviews, news stories, and courtroom testimony during Baldwin's trial.

These episodes cover sensitive topics such as animal abuse and domestic violence, so please take care of yourself as e recognize these victims for their sacrifices.

Transcript
Speaker:

Det. Jim Conroy:

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Like there's just no reason to even lie.

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Just, you know, he doesn't have to lie

in this particular situation, but he

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would lie and I would be like, what?

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Why?

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Like, I just didn't understand.

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DrG: Hi, and welcome to the

Animal Welfare Junction.

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. This is your host, Dr.

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G.

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And our music is written and

produced by Mike Sullivan.

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This is Season one State

versus Stefan Baldwin.

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And this is episode

six, the Con Whisperer.

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Now, this episode is probably the

hardest, but to me the most important

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because we're going to go over all the

victims of his actions, both the animals

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and the humans, and the organizations

that he just conned to, to get his way.

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This episode,

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the, the next few episodes are gonna be

somewhat triggering because we are going

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to be discussing animal abuse, animal

cruelty, just the things that he did to

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these animals that did not observe the

fates that they, that they ended up with.

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And then also things

like domestic violence.

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And, you know, it's very important

to understand that the Link is

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real, the Link between interpersonal

violence and animal abuse.

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So we are going to be discussing

both the animals and the

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human victims of his actions.

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If you need to take a break, if it's

too triggering, take care of yourself.

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Just pause and come back.

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But in general, I feel that it is

really important to share these

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stories because these are the stories.

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These are the heroes, right?

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These animals, these victims,

these are the heroes that got

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him where he is imprisoned today.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: My name is Blake

Jordan and my wife and I founded the Miami

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Valley Pit Crew about, uh, 13 years ago.

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We basically take Pit Bulls, German

Shepherds, actually any breed,

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but those are our two specialties

out of kill shelters, um, and

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rehab them and find them homes.

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I'm a foster based organization and

we mainly take medical cases, like

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severe medical cases, burns, gunshot

wounds, stabs, heartworm cases.

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Those are, are, those are our specialties.

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So that's what we do a lot of.

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Okay.

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And we work with shelters all over

the eastern, half the United States.

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Dr. G:

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Let's start with Chesty's story.

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How did you come about

knowing about Chesty?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Well, um, my wife and

one of her friends with another rescue

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here, local, got an ask for help, um, to

help feed some Great Danes that were part

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of a criminal case here in Dayton, Ohio.

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Um, they went down to ARC or

the Animal Resource Center here,

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delivered a whole bunch of food

and donations for those dogs.

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And one of the kennel staff took

my wife back into the police

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hold area and showed them Chesty.

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From the story that I gathered,

, the Dayton Police went on a,

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I think it was domestic call.

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Um, and Chesty was basically sleeping

under a bush outside of these folks'

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front door or by the porch of some sort.

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Um, got startled when Dayton PD nudged

him to see if he was alive or not.

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Um, when he jumped up, um, the

police officer shot him in the

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back, barely missed his spine,

and shattered his shoulder blade.

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When he was taken to ARC, with

him being a police case, they

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don't give any medical care.

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That is how we were

approached to take him.

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That was September 28th, 2013.

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We took him once he was released to us,

straight to our vet, our vet did a couple

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of surgeries, released him back to us,

and we rehabbed him to the point where he

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was able to be placed in a foster home.

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I wanna say probably through

mid-October, uh, maybe end of October,

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um, just as his gunshot wound was

healing, um, all the bone fragments

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had been removed, all that fun stuff.

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Steffen had applied to Foster for us.

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Um, not knowing much about him at that

point, 'cause he was still just a kid

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living in a beat, beat down, rundown

house in, in Marysville at that point.

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Um, went to his home and do what we do.

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We did the home check.

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We did the background check.

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Um, everything seemed

kosher at that point.

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Um, probably a month after that, I

think it was the eighth, maybe the

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7th of November, uh, 2020 or 2013.

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Um, he asked if he could adopt him.

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Absolutely.

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Uh, we let him adopt and it

was all downhill from there.

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Dr. G:

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So he was completely healed up by the

time he was that you released him, right?

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Yeah.

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Because that's one of the things

is like Steffen makes it sound like

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: absolutely not

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Dr. G:

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helped with the rehabilitation

and he was part of everything.

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Almost like he just railroaded you

guys out of the story of Chesty.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: He absolutely did.

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And that was where he started that,

um, storyline after he adopted him.

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To help to get himself status.

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Um, and we argued and argued

and argued and pleaded for years

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for him to stop doing that, um,

because it wasn't the truth.

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Dr. G:

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How did him adopting Chesty affect Chesty?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Well.

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My biggest problem that I had, um, when

he started his bouncing around from

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shelter to shelter, um, in Northern Ohio

at this point, was he was using Chesty

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basically to do behavioral tests on

the dogs he was taking into his house.

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So he would take these, I won't

say vicious dogs, but dogs who have

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had bite records and behavioral

issues, and he would just dump them

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in the backyard with chesty and

shut the door to see what happened.

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That's, that's how he did his evals.

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He used Chesty basically as bait.

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Dr. G:

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It, it's kind of funny.

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As long as I

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worked with with Steffen,

I never met Chesty.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Really?

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Dr. G:

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Yeah, so I never actually got to meet him.

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I saw him on pictures, I saw him on

videos and that kind of stuff, but

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wonderful, as far as I know, I don't

know that I ever did meet him in person.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Beautiful dog.

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Beautiful inside and out.

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Um, just the, the amount of love

that Chesty had was just crazy.

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I can tell you that from day one.

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He was very manageable, even, even

with the gunshot wound, even with

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the agony of the post-surgery.

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He just wanted to be loved.

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That's, that was it.

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That was his thing.

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Dr. G:

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So how did, how did this whole thing

unfold as far as once he took him and

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he started taking notoriety with him?

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I know that you guys kind

of clashed about that.

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Absolutely.

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So how did that whole thing go on?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Um,

it was several of us.

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Um.

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That basically tried to call him

out, um, quite a bit saying, Hey, you

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know, that's not the story he's lying

about how he rehabilitated Chesty.

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Um, he had nothing to do with that.

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He basically housed Chesty for a month,

um, fed him and uh, then adopted him.

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And that was his involvement

with Chesty's rehabilitation.

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And we called him out on that a lot.

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And every time that he would make

a post on Facebook or try to do his

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YouTube thing that he was trying to get

up, um, we would always go on there.

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'cause e even, um, I, I forget, what

was the girl's name out of New York?

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Who was, uh, working for the newspaper?

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Uh,

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Dr. G:

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Katie Nelson, or, yep,

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: that's her.

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Um, he was attached to her pretty

heavy, and she was, she was putting a

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lot of misinformation out on his behalf

that I don't know if she knew about.

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Um, but every time she would post

an article or post a video, we

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would always basically interact

and say, Hey, that's not the story.

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That's not how that happened.

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We, we, as a rescue fundraised

for him, paid for the surgery.

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All Steffen did was feed the dog.

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Um, and every time we did that,

we'd get push back and threats.

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Dr. G:

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How, how bad did the threats get?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Um, the threats

got to a certain point, uh, I'd

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say about two years into it.

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Where, um, he sicked Gordon Shell on

myself, my organization, and my wife.

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Um.

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Physical threats, verbal threats,

basically telling us what huge pieces of

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shit we are and we're liars, and if we do,

if we keep it up, he would hunt us down

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and, and, and basically kick our asses.

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I, I openly invited him several

times to come to my home.

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He never showed.

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Dr. G:

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That doesn't surprise me.

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'cause I think that a

lot of it is just talk.

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Right.

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Just like the same way that

they pump themselves up about

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the, what they do for the dogs.

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Right.

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Right.

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No talk and no actual action.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Zero action.

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None.

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Um, they were, I can tell you

that the three of them, Luke

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included, were all about the press.

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Um, all about getting their pictures

out, all about building themselves up.

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And we can see where two of

those three are right now.

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KFox Investigates: It's

an update to a story.

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K Fox 14 investigates first uncovered

in:

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El Paso Humane Society admitted to

charges of fraud and theft in Ohio.

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K.

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Fox 14 Investigative reporter Estefania

Seyffert takes us back to how this

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story unraveled and what happens next.

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The last time we spoke with Westerman, he

denied all allegations made against him.

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I haven't had any person ever

ask me anything or question

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my, my honor and my integrity.

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December 27th, 2018, Luke Westerman,

who was the executive director of

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the Humane Society of El Paso at

the time was indicted with charges

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of theft and securities violations.

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Accused of ripping off some Ohio citizens

of about $700,000 over eight years.

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A week later on January 7th,

:

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was booked into an Ohio jail.

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He was fired from the Humane

Society in El Paso The next day.

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The Humane Society announced a new

Chief Executive Officer, Deb Benedict.

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That same year in October, our

sister station WKEF in Dayton, Ohio,

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reported Westerman was indicted

in a second case, which included

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securities fraud, misrepresentation,

and theft from additional victims.

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Last week, Westerman pleaded guilty to

all 19 charges filed against him in Ohio.

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Prosecutors said he solicited at least

19 Ohioans to invest over $1 million

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into companies owned or controlled by

him, and used the money on personal

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expenses unrelated to the businesses.

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Dr. G:

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So did you guys try to get

chesty back at some point?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: We, we tried

a lot, um, through the years, um,

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through the police departments,

through, um, we actually had some

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lawyer contact back and forth.

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Um, and when everything started going

down with act falling apart and the

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Ohio, the charges here in Ohio starting

to build up against him, when he moved

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to California, we actually got the

authorities involved out there as well.

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Dr. G:

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You did not get him back until

he got arrested, is that correct?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Correct.

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Um, we worked, uh.

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Not closely, but we worked in tandem

with the detectives here in Ohio, um,

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who put us in contact with his girlfriend

that he was, had his rehabilitation

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ranch with out in, out in the desert out

in California, um, to get Chesty back.

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Um, when we were approached and finally

got some information out of the girlfriend

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and the police department, uh, we found

out that he had, uh, basically dogs

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living in shacks out in the desert.

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And Chesty was one of those dogs,

and I believe at that point he

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was probably 12 or 13 years old.

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Dr. G:

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And I know that, you know,

there's a, there's a jail call

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from him to his girlfriend.

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And when, you know, while he was

in jail and she's just telling her

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how chesty doesn't react to her

and doesn't care about her or, or

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whatever, like, it sounds like the,

there was just no relationship there.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: That's kind of what

I understand as well, and I can tell

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you, um, that the interaction that I was

told about from my volunteer who we flew

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out to California to pick up Chesty, um.

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From what I understand, he was very

happy to see her and he hadn't interacted

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with her at all up until that point.

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So I'm not sure what the relationship

was between Steffen, Steffen's girlfriend

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and Chesty, but I can tell you that when

the dog got back here, um, he remembered

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me from all those years and he was

very happy to see myself and my wife.

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Dr. G:

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And how was, how was that reunion?

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Because like it had been

how many years about

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: It had

been like, what I think eight

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years, nine years at that point.

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Dr. G:

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Eight years, yeah.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: So

it was, it was beautiful.

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Um, I was more intrigued by the

trip home and all the things that

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he got to see and experience.

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So that was, that was

the highlight for me.

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Um, he actually is currently living in

retirement with that volunteer and is

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just, couldn't be happier for him or her,

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Dr. G:

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He's just one of the lucky ones, right?

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Absolutely.

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'cause he actually made it alive.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Absolutely.

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Um, tho that is a, that's a hard

number to hit for, for any dogs in that

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came outta that situation with him.

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So the fact that he was able to

make it outta there alive, not get

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mauled with all of the bullshit that

he was put through is just amazing.

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Dr. G:

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People that I have been talking to

have been sharing how this, these.

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Experiences have changed the way that

they do rescue or they see rescue.

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How has he affected the way

that you guys do your thing?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: We're a little more

diligent, but it's so far in the past now

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that whatever we did to adopt, to adapt

to it is just part of our daily now.

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So it's not really something that we,

we try not to dwell on too much anymore,

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but we, we definitely don't forget.

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Our, our biggest thing for the past

several years as this was going on,

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we, we stayed pretty low key about

it, but our biggest goal and biggest

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openness was getting Chesty back to us.

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And that was, I, that was our major

concern and that was the out outlook,

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the outcome that we wanted and

we're happy that, that it happened.

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So we were very fortunate.

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Dr. G:

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And I'm super excited that, that he

was able to, again, he, that he made

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it and that you guys got him back.

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Because it's amazing.

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He's, he's a good guy and

he deserves a good life.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Absolutely.

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And he's living it, so.

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DrG: Next is the story of Romeo, and

Romeo is a dog that he took in for

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both medical and behavioral issues,

and he just did not do right by him.

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Det. Jim Conroy:

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He had set Romeo up saying that he had

a cancer spread throughout his body and

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had to euthanize him when Romeo did not

have cancer spread throughout his body.

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He just had a simple tumor, uh, low

grade that wasn't going to spread, that

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all it needed to do was be removed.

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That was it.

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Uh, but he claimed he had it

throughout his whole body and

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had to euthanize, um, uh, Romeo.

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So that's, that's, you know, how it

would've in depth, you know, liar

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he was, is he, and he is smart too.

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I'll give him that.

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He's a very smart individual.

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Um, he would set these things, things

up months ahead of time, you know,

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so people who, you know, aren't

thinking like these things are the,

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they're not gonna figure that out.

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You know, he's been upfront with

him about this cancer for months.

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Melissa Chase: Would you state

your name for the record?

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Alex.

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Alex Armaly: Alex Armley.

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I took Romeo in from a coworker.

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I had him for a total about six months.

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And he lived with me as a dog of my own.

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He had a, well, I was

told a cyst on his leg.

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He had severe allergies

to the food he was on.

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He had never been to a vet before.

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He never had any shots, he lived

in a crate most of his life.

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He wasn't really let out much.

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I waited about two days after I got him.

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So I would say probably March 3rd, 2014,

and I took him to Rascal Animal Unit.

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I went there 'cause I knew he needed

shots and they would be cheaper there just

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to get started, his initial assessment.

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DrG: So Alex brought him in

to Rascal Animal Hospital.

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We did his vaccines, we did an

evaluation, and you know, a lot of

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people throw around the word cyst,

like every, every mass or tumor is a

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cyst and that's normally a misnomer.

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So the way to identify what was going

on was we did a fine needle aspirate

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in which we put a small needle into

the mass, took some cells, and then

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identified what the cells were about.

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And the results of that were

that it was a mast cell tumor.

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Now.

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The, the problems with a fine

needle aspirate is that it

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doesn't tell you what grade.

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It just tells you what cells are in there.

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However, it's a really good place

to start, especially by letting

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the owner know that it's not just

a cyst, it's not a benign process.

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It can potentially be a problem

that needs to be addressed.

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Alex Armaly: They took a sample of

his, the tumor on his leg to send,

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to get lab work done, to confirm it

was a cyst, like I was told, which it

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was not as well as an allergy test.

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He was severely allergic

to the food he was on.

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I would say maybe about a week and

a half after we went to Rascal,

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so maybe like mid-March 2014.

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Dr.

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Bader, She was the vet that myself and

all of my friends were very close with.

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We all took our pets to her, so I

took her, I took Romeo to her as well.

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Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

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I am Cheryl Bater and I'm a

doctor of veterinary medicine.

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I see small animals in general practice.

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DrG: One thing that I

have to say about Dr.

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Bater is she has been doing this for a

really long time and she is so thorough.

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She is an amazing veterinarian.

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And I am really happy that

that's where Romeo went.

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Uh, Alex already had a relationship

with her, so it makes sense that she

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would go there for follow-up care.

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But in the, in the end, in the trial,

it was very helpful because Dr.

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Bader was able to participate as, as

an expert witness, but also as somebody

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who had firsthand knowledge of Romeo.

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Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

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Romeo was a patient of mine, and, uh,

Alex Armley, his owner, brought him to

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me for examination for a mass that he

had on him, so he was a patient of mine.

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So he had, uh, a lump on his, uh, right

rear leg that she wanted me to evaluate.

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Apparently he had been, um, had this

and she wanted my opinion 'cause

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she knew me from her other dog.

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Alex Armaly: I believe a cell

mast tumor is what I was told.

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A low grade.

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Um, I believe x-rays were also done

on his chest to confirm it was not

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metastatic and it has not spread.

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Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

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A Mast cell tumor.

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Mast cells are normally in the body,

respond in the case of, they're

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part of the immune system response.

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So a, a tumor that arises from a

mast cell, um, has characteristics

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of that that are exaggerated.

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So a mast cell tumor arises

from abnormal mast cells.

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At the time I saw him, it

was, uh, pendulous, like

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it was on a pedicle almost.

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So it looked like it sort of was hanging,

it was about the size of a lemon perhaps.

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Um, I would say it was

five to five centimeters.

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So what I presented to Alex, which

I present to all my clients, is a,

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um, there's a spectrum that we can

offer whenever we have a tumor.

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And this was newly, he was newly

adopted, uh, at that time too, is

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kind of the good, better, best.

375

:

So these are our options.

376

:

And I said the first thing we wanna do,

all we had was a fine needle aspirate.

377

:

And a fine needle aspirate gives

us an idea of, of what, what

378

:

family of tumors it's in, but not

what the grade is of the tumor.

379

:

So I offered her estimates for diagnostics

to assess him, uh, to see is there any

380

:

evidence that it's spread anywhere and

what's his general health if we're gonna

381

:

consider surgery to remove that tumor.

382

:

He also needed to be neutered.

383

:

She wanted to think about it, but she

came back, um, and decided that she wanted

384

:

to do those diagnostics and came back.

385

:

May 15th.

386

:

May six.

387

:

Yeah.

388

:

She came back for, uh, to do

the diagnostics and that's

389

:

where we did pre-anesthesia

diagnostics to look at his health.

390

:

She elected to start with

that, to see where we were.

391

:

'cause if we already had evidence

of metastasis from what was

392

:

potentially a malignant tumor,

then she wasn't gonna proceed.

393

:

But there was no evidence

of spread at all anywhere.

394

:

So I thought he was a really, really

good candidate to, for it to be, uh, low

395

:

grade or, and to be able to successfully

take it off and be done with it.

396

:

Alex Armaly: He was four

years old when I got him.

397

:

Um, extremely loving.

398

:

You could tell he hadn't

really been loved much before.

399

:

So when I gave him a little bit

of attention, it went a long way.

400

:

Um, he got very attached to me

and very clingy, which I think is

401

:

what resulted in him and my dog

not getting along down the road.

402

:

DrG: In addition to having that mass,

Romeo also was not neutered, and that

403

:

presented a problem because dogs that are

not neutered tend to be more aggressive,

404

:

have more behavioral issues, and Alex

had another dog, and the two of them

405

:

were having issues probably because of

Romeo's dominance and then her other dog

406

:

had already established

that that was his home.

407

:

So not only was the cost of surgery

a concern for her, but in the long

408

:

term, having two dogs that were not

gonna get along with each other and

409

:

could potentially hurt each other.

410

:

Alex Armaly: I started asking

around if anyone knew of shelters or

411

:

someone that could help me take him.

412

:

Um, I posted on a couple animal pages,

um, and then I was directed to ACT Ohio.

413

:

I was hoping to get him medical

treatment as well as someone

414

:

to just give him a new home.

415

:

Jennifer Kasouf: She had taken

him in from a friend who couldn't

416

:

take care of him anymore.

417

:

Um, there was some aggression

issues between Romeo and her dog.

418

:

And Romeo had a large lump on his leg

that she wasn't able to really care

419

:

for and was looking for rescue for him.

420

:

I had asked Steffen if we could help

rehab the dog and try to figure out

421

:

what was going on with his leg, and

he was just gonna take the dog in, try

422

:

to rehab him and find him new home and

see what we could do about vet care.

423

:

Alex Armaly: I told him about how

I got him, about the dogs fighting

424

:

after that last month or so.

425

:

Um, his health, me going to the vets

and getting information as to what

426

:

was going on with his health and

just what I had hoped for for him.

427

:

I couldn't afford having it

done at the time, and also the,

428

:

the fighting between the two.

429

:

He said he could get him the surgeries

he needed and help him with his

430

:

aggression and other dog being around

other dogs and find him another home.

431

:

I don't know who told me, but I believe

one of them told me that everything was

432

:

essentially pro bono because of their

organization with Rascal and the vet.

433

:

And they just took him and

they could do it for free.

434

:

DrG: It is really funny that he told

her that the service would be for free

435

:

because it goes along to imply that

he didn't really have any interest in

436

:

paying us back, just running up a bill

that he thought he could just write off.

437

:

Alex Armaly: I felt very

confident that he could help him.

438

:

He was very positive and

seemed excited to help him.

439

:

And hopeful.

440

:

Melissa Chase: Did you sign any kind

of transfer papers, any documents?

441

:

Alex Armaly: No, I did not.

442

:

I believe he was still my dog.

443

:

Um, he was just helping

find him another home.

444

:

Jennifer Kasouf: I think in the

beginning it was more of a concern

445

:

with the training and just making

sure that he could be placed.

446

:

Before it was a medical thing.

447

:

We were completely unaware it was cancer.

448

:

Alex Armaly: As far as I know, he took

him about two days later to have the

449

:

surgery done, um, which was successful,

neutering him and removing the tumor.

450

:

And then from then on, I, I

believed that he was cancer free

451

:

and he was healthy and good to go.

452

:

I was told that it was not a metastatic

tumor and that it would not spread and

453

:

if they removed it, he would be fine.

454

:

Melissa Chase: To the best of your

knowledge, where did Romeo's surgery take

455

:

Alex Armaly: place?

456

:

As far as I know it took place at Rascal.

457

:

Melissa Chase: And what's the message?

458

:

Alex Armaly: Tumor and testicles are gone.

459

:

That's the next day.

460

:

My baby?

461

:

I have tears again.

462

:

I'm so happy for him to finally

get the tumor taken care of.

463

:

I wish I could be there to comfort him.

464

:

Let me know about the additional

tumors they found and kiss him for me.

465

:

Thank you so much.

466

:

He looks great.

467

:

How is his leg healing?

468

:

You bet he's a champ.

469

:

Wasn't even limping the morning after.

470

:

He's at Rascal until Monday.

471

:

Awesome.

472

:

That makes me happy to hear.

473

:

DrG: Now remember he just told

Alex that we did the surgery

474

:

at Rascal Animal Hospital.

475

:

So keep that in mind.

476

:

Melissa Chase: Doctor.

477

:

Uh, good afternoon.

478

:

Would you state your name for the record?

479

:

Dr. Amy Welker:

480

:

Amy Lynn Welker.

481

:

Melissa Chase: And

doctor, are you employed?

482

:

Dr. Amy Welker:

483

:

Um, I'm no longer employed with Union

County Humane Society, but I was

484

:

just recently up till October 2023?

485

:

He was a pit bull type, male, blue

color, and five-ish years old.

486

:

I neutered him that day and removed a

tumor, actually two tumors as it turned

487

:

out, and, um, sent them for a biopsy.

488

:

I sent both, at least parts

of both in to be evaluated by

489

:

the pathologist at IDEXX lab.

490

:

They were Mast cell tumors, and

it had a mitotic index which

491

:

evaluated basically the prognosis.

492

:

I believe he went home as soon as

he was awake enough to go home.

493

:

DrG: So you got that, right?

494

:

So he tells Alex that we did

the surgery at Rascal Animal

495

:

Hospital, which is not true.

496

:

It is absolutely not true.

497

:

Dr.

498

:

Welker at the Union County

Humane Society did the surgery.

499

:

She removed the mass that

Alex was concerned about.

500

:

She found another mass.

501

:

She removed that and she neutered him.

502

:

And then what he did was after

surgery, he brought him over to Rascal

503

:

Animal Hospital for hospitalization,

but really more for boarding.

504

:

And he was there for about four to five

days, which was not really necessary.

505

:

Right.

506

:

Most animals, most patients

are released to their owner,

507

:

and the owner takes him home.

508

:

So at that time, I did not think about

why he needed to hospitalize or board him.

509

:

Now, hindsight is 2020.

510

:

He just wanted somewhere to just shove

that dog for several days until he

511

:

could figure out what to do with him,

especially since he was dog aggressive.

512

:

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

513

:

Grade one is like getting an A on a test.

514

:

Yay.

515

:

This is the, the best we

can have and the best idea.

516

:

Um, so if it's a, a low grade, uh,

many of the oncologists now will say,

517

:

no, no additional treatment needed.

518

:

Just observe it and if it comes back,

or you can go back and take a wider

519

:

margin if you want a little extra.

520

:

But for most dogs, if it's a low

grade, no additional therapies needed.

521

:

So, uh, the clinical assessment at the

bottom, the pathologist, uh, stated that

522

:

based on what the pathologist said, it

was expected to have a very, very low

523

:

risk, um, of shortening his life at all,

uh, in a very low risk of metastasis or

524

:

spread to otherwise parts of his body.

525

:

Um, and once you have that grade.

526

:

And the behavior, and then knowing what

I knew about seeing Romeo then is highly

527

:

improbable that, that that low grade

tumor would have become aggressive.

528

:

They don't become grade threes.

529

:

A grade one isn't going

to become a grade three.

530

:

Um.

531

:

So it was highly improbable that there

was dissemination of that tumor in his

532

:

body that would cause him to be premature

to prematurely die for any reason.

533

:

Alex Armaly: I think he checked

in with me here and there to send

534

:

updates, but overall, it was about

two weeks later when I got notified

535

:

that he had been put to sleep.

536

:

Jennifer Kasouf: I was home.

537

:

Um, right afterwards that Romeo

had cancer and was put down.

538

:

I was confused how a dog could be put

down from cancer that quickly because,

539

:

in my experience, pathology and

biopsies take a long time to come back.

540

:

They're just, they're

not done within 24 hours.

541

:

Are you aware, Jennifer, how Alex

Armley found out about Romeo?

542

:

Uh, I sent her a text message

or a Facebook message.

543

:

Not word for word, but I had just

explained her that, um, Romeo had

544

:

to be euthanized due to cancer.

545

:

Alex Armaly: They took him for a

follow up and there had been cancer

546

:

that spread through his whole body,

so aggressively radiation and nothing

547

:

else would help, so they put him down

before he felt any pain and suffered.

548

:

I was at lunch for my birthday with

the guy I was dating at the time.

549

:

I was hysterical and

we had to leave lunch.

550

:

Melissa Chase: Would you read into

the record what you wrote about Romeo?

551

:

Alex Armaly: Today sucks.

552

:

I'll love you forever.

553

:

Romeo, rest peacefully sweet boy.

554

:

So this is where we part my friend,

and you'll run on around the bend,

555

:

gone from sight, not from mind.

556

:

New pleasures there.

557

:

You'll surely find.

558

:

Your place I hold, but you'll be missed.

559

:

The first stroke to the nose I kissed.

560

:

And as you journey to your final rest,

take with you this, I love you best.

561

:

DrG: So he picks up Romeo

from us on August 12th.

562

:

The dog is doing fine, right?

563

:

It has had his medications,

pain, pain control and all of

564

:

that stuff, and he takes him.

565

:

We didn't do the surgery.

566

:

We did not send the biopsy, so

we didn't have that information.

567

:

So then fast forward to the

28th, he sends a text saying

568

:

that Romeo's information came back and

that the tumor has spread and that it's

569

:

really malignant and really aggressive,

and that, you know, dog's gonna suffer.

570

:

And with him being dog aggressive,

it's not fair to keep him in a crate.

571

:

And basically saying that, you

know, quality of life is poor

572

:

and he needs to euthanize him.

573

:

However, this was all a lie because

he never received anything from

574

:

any veterinarian saying that the

cancer had spread, that he had

575

:

metastasis, and actually the.

576

:

The pathology on the mass came back

as a grade one mast cell tumor,

577

:

which is the lowest grade, and they

usually have an excellent prognosis.

578

:

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

579

:

There, there was no documentation of any

veterinarian that said, Hey, this, this

580

:

dog looks like we have a spread of cancer.

581

:

Uh, there was no veterinary assessment

that said, um, somebody, there

582

:

must be another cancer somewhere.

583

:

Somebody threw us a zinger.

584

:

There was nothing that indicated

that a veterinarian assessed him

585

:

to have metastatic cancer anywhere.

586

:

Melissa Chase: So what was your

conclusion with respect to the

587

:

euthanization decision of Romeo?

588

:

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

589

:

I think it was tragic.

590

:

It was, it was, it was tragic.

591

:

It was sad.

592

:

It was heartbreaking.

593

:

Literally when I read it, I was

like, it tightened my chest.

594

:

I'm like, it was a grade one tumor.

595

:

It, it was unnecessary

and tragic, in my opinion.

596

:

DrG: This case is one that is really

upsetting because whenever a pet

597

:

owner brings you their, their dog

or cat or rabbit or what may be,

598

:

and tells you, you know, this is the

medical history, this is the story.

599

:

This is what has happened, and

this is my pet's quality of life.

600

:

That's sometimes that's all the

information that you have and you

601

:

have to make a decision based on that.

602

:

And at that point we had just.

603

:

Started working with him.

604

:

So he comes in and spins this

story about how the dog had cancer.

605

:

We knew that it was a mast cell

tumor, so that part made sense.

606

:

But he spins how the dog had this

horrible cancer and it has metastasized,

607

:

and the dog has a poor quality of life.

608

:

So the best thing for the dog at that

point would've been euthanasia if that

609

:

was true, but unfortunately it wasn't.

610

:

And like Dr.

611

:

Bader said, it was just

unnecessary and it was tragic.

612

:

One of the dogs that he had for a long

time and he made a ton of publicity

613

:

out of, was Belle Belle the Bait Dog.

614

:

And it's, it's amazing how he

turned he, her story and he

615

:

took advantage of her issues.

616

:

To then create publicity and fundraise

and even make a book about the hotdog man.

617

:

Ed Jameson: My name's Ed Jameson.

618

:

Um, at the time I was the Chief

Animal Control Officer for the city of

619

:

Cleveland, Ohio's Animal Care and Control.

620

:

DrG: How you came to

get possession of Belle?

621

:

Like what was her backstory?

622

:

Ed Jameson: It was an

injured, injured stray call.

623

:

Um, and the dog had major, major

medical, um, particularly in the face.

624

:

It definitely had been in some type

of a, of a fight and had got the, not

625

:

the good end of the, of the fight.

626

:

And so we rushed the dog to emergency vet

care, which, um, we were able to get that.

627

:

And then we had very little isolation

areas in that, in that old kennel in

628

:

Cleveland, which is no longer in use.

629

:

But, um, she was in that room, the

one room we were able to isolate

630

:

and just had all kinds of stents

and stitches and things like that.

631

:

Um, and was really sweet to humans.

632

:

Need to say in that situation, it

was a very noisy, chaotic shelter.

633

:

It appeared to us that she had animal

aggression, but we also couldn't do

634

:

any real, she couldn't do playgroups

'cause of her medical condition,

635

:

but any dog walked by the cage and

she, she totally lost her mind.

636

:

So, um, reached out to Mr.

637

:

Baldwin.

638

:

Um, 'cause 'cause other than that,

she was a, she was a great dog.

639

:

Steffen Baldwin: So we got the call

from the Cleveland Animal Control.

640

:

Um, they, we were the only group that

they trusted to take this dog because

641

:

of her dog issues, because of her

fear and what she had gone through.

642

:

DrG: Is there any truth to that?

643

:

Ed Jameson: I didn't know him to

know how much I could or couldn't.

644

:

I knew that he at least had, um,

said that, you know, and had some

645

:

success, especially with bully breeds.

646

:

Um, being able to, to get them

in, you know, there, there's.

647

:

I didn't know him well enough to say

that he was the only person there.

648

:

There's very few people that

actually can responsibly take, you

649

:

know, animals in that condition to

begin with, but he was one who had

650

:

shown some type some success, so.

651

:

Steffen Baldwin: Bell

came to us from Cleveland.

652

:

I got a call from the dog warden up

in Cleveland, the chief dog warden.

653

:

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

part of an investigation where they're

654

:

looking at dog fighting organizations.

655

:

And, uh, she is what you

typically know as a bait dog.

656

:

DrG: So did any of your staff say

that they instructed Stefan that

657

:

Bell had been from a dog fighting

case or an investigation or anything

658

:

that would've left him to start

doing all that advertising for her?

659

:

Ed Jameson: No, maybe, maybe

that, Hey, we are looking into it.

660

:

She, again, it was obvious she got her

butt kicked by a most likely dog, um,

661

:

in the city of Cleveland, but there was

zero evidence of anything organized,

662

:

like literally zero evidence of that.

663

:

So we, we never talked like that

internally without there actually

664

:

being some type of facts to back it up.

665

:

Is it a true statement to say that

Bell probably was in a dog fight?

666

:

True.

667

:

Is it true to say there's any evidence

that it was an organized dog fight

668

:

and anything different than just

two loose dogs in the streets of

669

:

Cleveland tussling with each other?

670

:

Nothing.

671

:

Nothing more than that.

672

:

And they said you, you knew Bell,

she was spicy around other animals.

673

:

There was no question about that.

674

:

The sweetest thing with humans.

675

:

DrG: My experience with Belle was, uh, as

you say, she was super sweet with people,

676

:

but she would see another dog and she

would just go crazy, and she was so small

677

:

that she picked fights that she could

not, you know, hold, hold her into, I, I

678

:

compare her to a chihuahua right there.

679

:

Yeah.

680

:

Like the angry chihuahua

that sees another dog.

681

:

And it doesn't matter how big the dog is,

it wants to go after it, but it's gonna

682

:

lose because it's just not big enough.

683

:

Ed Jameson: That was very inappropriate

and that that was something, I

684

:

mean I saw that, um, I, if I'm

not mistaken, I think I was out on

685

:

the road when he actually came in.

686

:

So my team actually released the dog

to him and before I even made it back

687

:

to the kennel, I saw some notification

pop up on my phone and he was like,

688

:

Facebook liveing it only a couple

minutes out of being outta the shelter.

689

:

I remember thinking, and this

is great for this dog, but yeah,

690

:

if there is actually anybody.

691

:

That, that there is something

nefarious going on and they see

692

:

this, it just drives 'em underground.

693

:

You, you literally will lose the

case, right, right then and there.

694

:

Um, again, that anybody knows

anything about investigations, forget

695

:

about even sensationalizing of it.

696

:

Hey, I understand how fundraising works.

697

:

There'll be a time and a place you

could fundraise not six or seven minutes

698

:

after leaving the shelter, when I told

you that we're, we are looking into it.

699

:

So had there been a case that would've

absolutely harmed, um, harmed the case.

700

:

Steffen Baldwin: And, uh, she is what

you typically know as a bait dog.

701

:

She was bred smaller and used specifically

for fighting dogs to practice on.

702

:

Her teeth have been filed down straight

across, so she can't fight back.

703

:

Ed Jameson: Yeah.

704

:

And that's, um, there's a lot of people

who say that that is very catchy.

705

:

And so we will see well-intended

advocates who don't really know, oh,

706

:

this dog's gonna be used as a bait dog.

707

:

Mul, multiple things.

708

:

Um, dogs, the one that have microchips

are not eye candidates for that.

709

:

In my experience, they are, um,

they're actually dogs who don't

710

:

have any chance of winning at all.

711

:

And so even so, pit bull, bully types

are not even, um, necessarily that thing.

712

:

They, they, they want dogs.

713

:

They have dogs that are for sure gonna

lose for, so they're fighting dogs.

714

:

One don't get injured in it.

715

:

Um, and it just sounds so

sensational when people say that,

716

:

yes, this dog was used as bait.

717

:

DrG: Yeah.

718

:

In my experience, usually when we

see bait animals, it's going to be

719

:

like really small dogs, or it's gonna

be cats, or it's gonna be wildlife.

720

:

And they're used really more

to drive that prey sense.

721

:

Right.

722

:

Instead of actually fighting.

723

:

Because one of the things that Jeanette

mentioned was the fact that, you know,

724

:

like Belle, yeah, she's smaller, but

she can still cause injury and you don't

725

:

want a high price pit bull to get injured

during, during a training session.

726

:

Ed Jameson: Exactly.

727

:

E Exactly.

728

:

So yeah, that's, I hear that

all the time with people saying

729

:

that from animals leaving the

shelter, particularly bully types.

730

:

And it's just like, yeah, that's not

your, and most shelters are able to have

731

:

animals fixed now before they leave too.

732

:

So again, they're not, they're not

trying to take altered animals.

733

:

Yeah.

734

:

Bell was not what I would've said.

735

:

If, if, you know, if there was an

organized thing that would be a of a bait

736

:

dog that this, that this doesn't add up.

737

:

Steffen Baldwin: I mean, you

can't really tell from now.

738

:

I mean, you can see the scars of

course, but her jaw was falling apart.

739

:

They had to do reconstructive

surgery to put it back together.

740

:

She was emaciated.

741

:

She was.

742

:

You know, she was basically

left for dead almost.

743

:

So,

744

:

Robyn Haines: and that's kind of

where your relationships come in.

745

:

I know you work with Rascal Animal

Hospital, obviously, and other

746

:

groups that kind of help you

when you have a case like this.

747

:

Steffen Baldwin: Correct?

748

:

Yes.

749

:

So we got the call from the

Cleveland Animal Control.

750

:

Um, they, we were the only group that

they trusted to take this dog because

751

:

of her dog issues, because of her

fear and what she had gone through.

752

:

So we picked her up, we drove her down

to Rascal Animal Hospital here in Dublin.

753

:

Uh, and Dr.

754

:

G took great care of her physically.

755

:

So, and that's our partnership with

Rascal, that they heal the, the, the

756

:

body and we heal the mind basically.

757

:

And then we have a whole dog.

758

:

DrG: How far was she into her healing

process when you released her to

759

:

Stefan because when I saw her,

she was, she looked really good.

760

:

Like the, the treatments

that she had received and the

761

:

drains and all of that stuff.

762

:

She was looking really, really good.

763

:

But he makes it sound like, you know, he

took her while she was still all ripped

764

:

up and that we did a lot of the repair.

765

:

When in reality all I did was the recheck.

766

:

Ed Jameson: If I'm not mistaken, she had

been with us for a couple weeks between

767

:

she, when she went to the emergency

vet care and then ultimately came back.

768

:

And that's why we knew, trying to

look, man, this is gonna be hard to

769

:

find anybody who'll take this dog one.

770

:

Um, yes, it has all this medical

that is healing up, but then

771

:

two, obviously, um, the, the, the

dog aggression component of it.

772

:

But I am, I think we had her for a

couple weeks and we were really, really

773

:

happy with the work that was as wet

Park, west Park Animal Hospital was.

774

:

So we had the contract with, at least

when I was the chief there, and they,

775

:

they had put all of those drains

and stitches and things like that.

776

:

And so she was on her way to heal

medically, um, when she left.

777

:

'cause I remember telling him

that, I said, I'm not a vet.

778

:

But other than some rechecks, hopefully

everything, unless something gets

779

:

infected, hopefully the medical

component, that wasn't the main

780

:

reason I was reaching out for rescue.

781

:

I was reaching out because

of the behavior component.

782

:

DrG: I remember, uh, and I have a picture,

examining her when he first got her.

783

:

And actually there is also a

picture of him driving with

784

:

her after he picked her up.

785

:

And in that picture, I mean, it's

like completely different dog

786

:

compared to the pictures with all

the drains and all the injuries.

787

:

So, you know, a little bit also,

788

:

he was trying to fundraise based on, she's

a bait dog and everything else, but also

789

:

trying to lead people to believe that he

needed to fundraise for her medical care,

790

:

which you guys had already taken care of.

791

:

Ed Jameson: I, I just think it's tough.

792

:

Um, animal welfare.

793

:

It, it goes through its different

iterations and we're in a

794

:

really tough time right now.

795

:

Um, the, the painting sad stories,

I totally understand that, that

796

:

that can generate donations.

797

:

It doesn't necessarily do the best for

our cause, especially shelter animals

798

:

that the general public who doesn't

live lives like we do and think about

799

:

animals all day long, it makes 'em think

that all of our animals are broken.

800

:

Um, and I, I, I am fortunate enough

to be the CEO of an organization

801

:

called Operation Kindness.

802

:

Now we stay positive, we do

forensics work for the city of

803

:

Dallas, um, and, and other, um, um,

entities throughout North Texas.

804

:

And we still try to remain positive

as opposed to going to the negative.

805

:

Um, yes, you can generate some dollars

on that, but the long term, if we're

806

:

really trying to get the public to be

more involved, most people don't want

807

:

to be involved with something sad.

808

:

They would much rather be involved with

something that's got positive to it.

809

:

It's still, I remember thinking, why

are we painting a story that we just

810

:

don't know what's true as opposed to,

Hey, I'm trying to help this dog that

811

:

obviously went through something rough.

812

:

Has shown a bunch of good

qualities around human beings.

813

:

Like I, I thought that that dog could

have been marketed that way as opposed

814

:

to getting, I mean, they could think you

named the bell the bait dog before it

815

:

was outside the city of Cleveland Limits.

816

:

And that, that was disappointing to me.

817

:

DrG: Over time we realized that Belle

was a really sweet dog with people,

818

:

but Belle was an asshole with other

dogs, and she would see other dogs and

819

:

she would go, like, she would lose her

voice because she was growling and, and

820

:

barking so hard at these other dogs.

821

:

So Bell is one of those dogs that he

had that had multiple fights in his

822

:

house, I believe, uh, that at one point

even a neighbor hit her in the head

823

:

with a shovel because she got out and

she was, she was being aggressive.

824

:

So, I mean, the Belle to me is one of

the biggest examples of how he took a

825

:

narrative and took this poor dog and

used her to, to make fame and make money.

826

:

Det. Jim Conroy:

827

:

Yes, you are correct.

828

:

Um, all of that you have pretty good

understanding of, uh, bell was the,

829

:

the Face of Act Ohio and what he,

he used as the Face of Act Ohio.

830

:

And this, this bell story was

part of the all-encompassing

831

:

telecommunications charge.

832

:

You know, we did.

833

:

You know, a telecom communications

charge for each of the dead dogs

834

:

that he had posted as adopted.

835

:

Then we did the all one encompassing

charge for all these other stories,

836

:

you know, uh, about other dogs

that didn't necessarily die, um,

837

:

but we're fraudulent stories.

838

:

The Bell story is a complete fraud.

839

:

It's all a lie.

840

:

And it started from the very beginning.

841

:

He, he made Act Ohio based on

Belle the bait dog, and as you

842

:

said, wrote a book, which you

wrote a very glowing comment about,

843

:

DrG: allegedly

844

:

Det. Jim Conroy:

845

:

in

846

:

Amazon.

847

:

No, you did.

848

:

It was Dr.

849

:

G and you were, had a glowing

review of it, which we know you

850

:

didn't do, but he he did it.

851

:

Yep.

852

:

Um,

853

:

Det. Jim Conroy:

854

:

he wrote the review for you, but, um,

it was all a lie it's, you're right.

855

:

She was not a bait dog, never was.

856

:

We know the whole story.

857

:

But he created this whole, he wrote

a book about her Belle, the Bait

858

:

dog, you know, um, it was all a lie.

859

:

There was nothing true to it.

860

:

And then Belle was the number

one fighter in that house.

861

:

She, I documented 13 different

fights that she started.

862

:

She attacked other dogs.

863

:

You mentioned the shovel one where,

where she escaped the house, went

864

:

over and attacked the neighbor's dog.

865

:

The neighbor hit her in the head and,

and split her head open with the shovel.

866

:

Um, and she was rushed to the hospital.

867

:

Baldwin happened to be

getting Amanda Walton.

868

:

That was when he was moving.

869

:

So he wasn't home.

870

:

He was getting, picking

her up with the U-Haul.

871

:

That Act Ohio paid for this whole entire

trip to move her back to Act Ohio, to live

872

:

with him, to be on his TV show and Bell.

873

:

That's when Bell got loose

and, and, and was hospitalized.

874

:

Belle was the number one fighter.

875

:

I documented 13 fights Belle was in and

she started all of 'em, or most of them.

876

:

DrG: Peewee came from a

hoarding case in Union County.

877

:

And he had called us and said that he

had this warrant and he was going to

878

:

go in and they were taking all these

animals out of this hoarding facility

879

:

or this house that was a hoarding place.

880

:

And Peewee was one of the many

dogs that came from there.

881

:

And I actually have pictures of

my staff with Peewee, and he came

882

:

in that they were cleaning him up

because all of these dogs were a mess.

883

:

Like they were matted, they

were covered in like caked

884

:

in urine and feces and stuff.

885

:

Um, but realistically, Peewee was old.

886

:

Uh, he was a senior guy, but nothing

really significant with him But then he

887

:

sends him out to foster, and Peewee ended

up being victim of Steffen's shenanigans.

888

:

Det. Jim Conroy:

889

:

In, uh, January of two 15, I think it

was the 25th of January, uh, Peewee

890

:

was part of a, a hoarding case.

891

:

So many animals, like maybe a

dozen or so that, that were removed

892

:

from a house, uh, by Baldwin.

893

:

Stephanie Van Brimmer: We received a, um,

894

:

a tip or a call, um, basically saying

that there was an injured beagle, that

895

:

the owner was refusing medical treatment.

896

:

When we first went out there,

Steffen and I went on that call

897

:

together, um, and we met with Mr.

898

:

Martin and, um, he

brought out one dog to us.

899

:

But it was not the dog that fit the

description that we were looking for.

900

:

Uh, he refused to let us inside the house.

901

:

He, he did walk us out back to

where two dogs were chained up,

902

:

and then we, we knew right then

that, um, he wasn't being truthful.

903

:

So we just documented what we saw and what

we heard that day, and then we went back.

904

:

I took the information that I gathered

from that, um, when we were there

905

:

and I went back to the person that

originally filed the complaint and

906

:

showed her pictures of the dogs

that we witnessed that day and

907

:

confirmed if that was the, one of

the dogs that she was talking about.

908

:

And she said no.

909

:

And so then we, um, moved forward

with obtaining a search warrant.

910

:

Steffen and I with the sheriff,

um, went back to the house

911

:

and, um, when we went in,

912

:

Melissa Chase: do you

need, do you need a minute?

913

:

Stephanie Van Brimmer: There were dogs.

914

:

There was one dog chained to

a bed in horrible conditions.

915

:

Um, flea infested, covered in urine.

916

:

Probably three inch nails, um, chained

to a hospital bed covered in feces.

917

:

Um, across the room, in the same room

across was a dog chained to a wall.

918

:

In the kitchen, there was a made

shift crate or fence that you would

919

:

see outside with straw and a dog

laying there covered in feces, matted.

920

:

There were 24.

921

:

Melissa Chase: Who were the two

dogs that were chained outside?

922

:

Stephanie Van Brimmer:

Um, Peewee was one of 'em.

923

:

And King was the other.

924

:

I don't remember the complete

conversation with Rick.

925

:

Um, but the Martin case was a little

bit different because, um, they, they,

926

:

they did something, uh, it's called,

um, owner surrender in lieu of charges.

927

:

Mm-hmm.

928

:

Um, and that was, um, an agreement

that Steffen had, so when we removed

929

:

all of the animals to Rascal, Steffen

stayed back and Steffen talked with Mr.

930

:

Martin.

931

:

He built, um, um, more of an

understanding of the, the bigger

932

:

picture and the more of the situation.

933

:

And later there was a later conversation

between me and Steffen and Steffen

934

:

what Steffen's recommendation

where he thought would be most

935

:

impactful for this situation.

936

:

And he, um.

937

:

Um, proposed the, um, owner

surrender in lieu of charges,

938

:

um, instead of moving forward.

939

:

We transported all of the

animals to animal, um, Rascal

940

:

Animal Hospital in Dublin.

941

:

Pee Wee was a senior dog that

was, um, chained up outside

942

:

with no access to food or water.

943

:

His body condition, I would

say was probably fair.

944

:

Um, he was matted.

945

:

Um, and a,

946

:

he had some, um, health conditions

that were being treated at Rascal.

947

:

DrG: So at one point when Stephanie

is at Rascal Animal Hospital, bringing

948

:

in the dogs, taking care of the dogs,

she realizes that the people that

949

:

got the dogs taken away from them,

they were outside and they have been

950

:

threatening her, I believe, online,

but she thought that they were outside.

951

:

So I texted Steffen and I said, Hey,

um, Stephanie thinks that they're

952

:

here and she's afraid to go outside.

953

:

And he just blows it

off, like literal words.

954

:

It's like, tell her to put on her

big boy pants and just deal with it.

955

:

And that's how, that's

not how that works, right?

956

:

You have to protect your

staff and your people, right?

957

:

Like you don't know how these

people are going to react.

958

:

You just took their animals

like they could be volatile,

959

:

so completely inappropriate.

960

:

Det. Jim Conroy:

961

:

I know that Peewee came to,

uh, Rascal Animal Hospital.

962

:

He had, I think a heart

murmur or something like that.

963

:

He was deemed to be eight years old.

964

:

Um, and within a week he went to a, a

woman, uh, a foster named Theresa Balsiger

965

:

Theresa Balsiger: I'm Theresa

Balsiger and I was PeeWee's Foster.

966

:

And we got Peewee because, um, the humane

agent, Stephanie VanBrimmer, who worked

967

:

with Steffen, advertised on their Facebook

page that they needed, um, fosters for

968

:

these, this humane case in Marysville.

969

:

So we got in touch with Stephanie

and decided to foster Peewee.

970

:

So we just went down to Rascal and they

brought him out to us and we brought him

971

:

back here and that's how it all started.

972

:

DrG: So what was your, what was your

impression of Peewee when you got him?

973

:

Theresa Balsiger: He was, uh, a goof.

974

:

Like he just had that face

that you just wanted to pet.

975

:

You know, he just, he

seemed very sad, but he,

976

:

he was interested in things.

977

:

So when we like brought him home, we had

a chihuahua, Phyllis and Phyllis fell

978

:

in love with Peewee, and I don't know

if it was because of the hair, but he

979

:

would, if he was outside laying, then

she would get up and like kind of knit

980

:

his back like a cat does, and then curl

around and then lay there with Peewee.

981

:

So they hung out a lot.

982

:

Peewee and Phyllis were buddies.

983

:

So usually wherever he was, she

would follow him and they fo they

984

:

would go all around the yard.

985

:

But to me he just seemed like he was

a senior dog, but on the young side

986

:

of senior who was still interested in

learning about life, if that makes sense.

987

:

He just didn't have, sometimes he showed

little puppy characteristics when he

988

:

would gallop around the yard and we're

like, oh, he's finally feeling like

989

:

he can run, you know, or do something.

990

:

Um, so yeah, we, we kind of,

we, we said we'd keep him for

991

:

as long as he needed to be kept.

992

:

'cause I didn't think he

would ever get adopted.

993

:

DrG: And how long did you have him?

994

:

Theresa Balsiger: We had him, I

wanna say close to five months.

995

:

Det. Jim Conroy:

996

:

Uh, so on February 1st, he was with her.

997

:

And, uh, and had been with her, uh,

and he was like a really sweet dog.

998

:

He wasn't, wasn't a Pit Bull

or it was just not a typical

999

:

dog that Baldwin dealt with.

:

00:55:22,958 --> 00:55:27,278

It was just this very sweet, gentle,

I'm not sure what type of dog it was,

:

00:55:27,368 --> 00:55:31,238

but so it did really well at her house.

:

00:55:31,598 --> 00:55:35,618

And, um, she said it was like coming

back to life and, and the light was back

:

00:55:35,618 --> 00:55:37,268

in his eyes and he was enjoying life.

:

00:55:37,328 --> 00:55:41,558

And, and in, uh, may they

took him, well, first she took

:

00:55:41,558 --> 00:55:43,658

him to her own vet in April.

:

00:55:44,198 --> 00:55:48,668

Uh, and then in May, her, it was her

son or her daughter at Ohio State had

:

00:55:48,668 --> 00:55:53,438

some sort of, uh, uh, a thing with

animals like out in the corridor,

:

00:55:53,498 --> 00:55:54,938

one of the main parts of campus.

:

00:55:55,628 --> 00:56:00,158

And, um, you know, peewee, they,

they, you know, Theresa said that

:

00:56:00,158 --> 00:56:01,688

he was in the height of his glory.

:

00:56:01,688 --> 00:56:05,738

He was so happy and, and loving

life and, and he just was a

:

00:56:05,798 --> 00:56:07,748

completely changed and different dog.

:

00:56:08,348 --> 00:56:16,358

And then, uh, a month later in, uh, June,

um, Baldwin has another dog named Coco.

:

00:56:16,478 --> 00:56:22,388

And, uh, Balsiger's would have to go out

of town and they have a, a bigger dog.

:

00:56:22,748 --> 00:56:26,708

So they asked Baldwin to watch this

bigger dog as they went out of town.

:

00:56:26,823 --> 00:56:28,718

And, and he agreed to.

:

00:56:29,088 --> 00:56:36,408

Theresa Balsiger: Coco came from Franklin

County Animal Shelter and we've had Coco,

:

00:56:36,408 --> 00:56:43,368

I think since 20, well, at Peewee went in

:

:

00:56:43,368 --> 00:56:48,978

So we've had him 10 years and he, and.

:

00:56:50,628 --> 00:56:55,608

It, it, I, I really, every time I think

about it, I go, I could just throw up

:

00:56:55,608 --> 00:56:58,368

because of, of what happened with Remy.

:

00:56:58,368 --> 00:57:03,948

But we had went on vacation and we're

gone for two weeks and we have a dog,

:

00:57:04,938 --> 00:57:11,488

Kozar We took him everywhere and he was,

part Newfoundland and part Rottweiler.

:

00:57:11,748 --> 00:57:17,148

He developed this fear type aggression,

so we, I couldn't have a regular pet

:

00:57:17,148 --> 00:57:22,128

sitter come for fear that they would

get bit, so I had asked Steffen to

:

00:57:22,128 --> 00:57:26,073

watch Kozar, and he did for two weeks.

:

00:57:26,073 --> 00:57:30,603

He watched Kozar and I'm think, man, I'm

so glad nothing happened to that dog.

:

00:57:30,883 --> 00:57:30,884

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

00:57:30,884 --> 00:57:35,023

So when they came back, Baldwin

says, Hey, you know, uh, you

:

00:57:35,023 --> 00:57:36,883

know, your dog and our dog, Coco.

:

00:57:37,258 --> 00:57:40,168

Well, the dog he was talking about,

uh, you know, hit it off and they're,

:

00:57:40,198 --> 00:57:43,318

they're wonderful, they're great, and

he'd be great to foster at your house.

:

00:57:43,348 --> 00:57:47,038

You know, Coco, well, Coco

was a, a another problem dog.

:

00:57:47,668 --> 00:57:53,128

And, um, this was just him getting rid

of a problem dog for whatever reason.

:

00:57:53,708 --> 00:57:55,928

Theresa Balsiger: He brought

Coco over to our house.

:

00:57:56,708 --> 00:57:57,818

They just did.

:

00:57:57,818 --> 00:58:00,068

I mean, they took off and did great.

:

00:58:00,638 --> 00:58:05,708

So I said, I will bring Coco

in, and then he was gonna take

:

00:58:05,708 --> 00:58:08,258

Peewee and I said, he's so good.

:

00:58:08,708 --> 00:58:11,078

I said, there's, he's so easy.

:

00:58:11,408 --> 00:58:14,498

He just wants to, you know, relax.

:

00:58:14,498 --> 00:58:15,068

He slept.

:

00:58:15,743 --> 00:58:16,703

Stretched out.

:

00:58:16,703 --> 00:58:21,113

He was not on a chain anymore,

so he just kind of meandered.

:

00:58:21,113 --> 00:58:23,933

And then every now and then he

would get this gallop going.

:

00:58:23,933 --> 00:58:27,563

And we always said he looked like a

goat out there frolicking in the yard.

:

00:58:28,193 --> 00:58:30,023

So he said, okay.

:

00:58:30,423 --> 00:58:35,583

So we kept Coco continued to

foster him, probably thinking

:

00:58:35,583 --> 00:58:37,203

in our minds we would adopt him.

:

00:58:37,743 --> 00:58:42,633

And then we sent Peewee with Steffen

who he said, oh he'll just, you

:

00:58:42,633 --> 00:58:47,583

know, live his quiet life, uh, you

know, being out in the backyard and

:

00:58:47,583 --> 00:58:49,503

in the house and doing his thing.

:

00:58:49,503 --> 00:58:51,783

And I said, oh, said that works for me.

:

00:58:52,503 --> 00:58:58,023

So then we brought Cocoa in and then

that's how Steffen got Peewee back.

:

00:58:59,193 --> 00:58:59,194

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

00:58:59,194 --> 00:59:02,013

Now, she didn't ask him to take

Peewee back, he just took Peewee back.

:

00:59:02,853 --> 00:59:07,503

And, um, that was like

on a Saturday evening.

:

00:59:07,893 --> 00:59:14,673

And then, um, Monday morning, uh, he

messaged you that he needed to bring

:

00:59:14,673 --> 00:59:19,893

in a dog, uh, that was, uh, needed to

be euthanized and, uh, that was Peewee.

:

00:59:21,003 --> 00:59:27,603

And Peewee, he said Peewee was 14 years

old and had neurological condition

:

00:59:27,603 --> 00:59:32,733

and problems, and his quality of life

was poor and that he needed, you know,

:

00:59:32,733 --> 00:59:36,213

to be euthanized due to, you know,

all of those issues that he's having.

:

00:59:36,213 --> 00:59:37,503

So, you know, he brought him in.

:

00:59:37,713 --> 00:59:40,623

It was like 40 hours later

from when he took Peewee,

:

00:59:40,948 --> 00:59:41,168

and,

:

00:59:41,173 --> 00:59:42,933

and the day in between was Sunday.

:

00:59:42,933 --> 00:59:46,353

So, you know, we know he

didn't take Peewee anywhere.

:

00:59:46,773 --> 00:59:51,783

So he had Peewee euthanized at

your place on that Monday morning

:

00:59:51,813 --> 00:59:53,853

or noon right around there.

:

00:59:54,603 --> 00:59:58,863

And, um, yeah, this was one of the

tougher stories for me because I remember,

:

00:59:59,343 --> 01:00:02,793

when I had read this and found out

that Peewee had been euthanized,

:

01:00:03,153 --> 01:00:04,473

I couldn't sleep that night.

:

01:00:04,473 --> 01:00:06,693

It was like one in the

morning when I saw the story.

:

01:00:07,263 --> 01:00:09,063

Um, and it just really bothered me.

:

01:00:09,093 --> 01:00:14,133

'cause when I had talked to Theresa

Balsiger she was one that did not know

:

01:00:14,133 --> 01:00:18,483

that that that Baldwin had euthanized

Peewee, uh, she, you know, through

:

01:00:18,483 --> 01:00:23,393

messages, tried to contact him about,

uh, Peewee after Baldwin took her back,

:

01:00:23,593 --> 01:00:24,963

and always asked about Peewee.

:

01:00:25,515 --> 01:00:26,355

Theresa Balsiger: How's Peewee doing?

:

01:00:26,355 --> 01:00:27,285

Oh, he is doing great.

:

01:00:27,315 --> 01:00:28,155

How's Peewee doing?

:

01:00:28,155 --> 01:00:28,455

Great.

:

01:00:28,455 --> 01:00:32,655

He kept that whole time, he kept saying,

he's doing fine, he's doing fine.

:

01:00:32,685 --> 01:00:35,715

He's out sleeping under my kayaks.

:

01:00:36,405 --> 01:00:37,545

You know, he would give me.

:

01:00:38,400 --> 01:00:40,770

I mean, where he slept most of the day.

:

01:00:40,770 --> 01:00:42,540

He had a good dinner, you know this.

:

01:00:42,750 --> 01:00:45,720

So it was stuff that he made up

:

01:00:46,020 --> 01:00:47,100

Can you come over here?

:

01:00:47,100 --> 01:00:49,110

'cause Coco's was bad.

:

01:00:49,110 --> 01:00:50,610

He was horrible dog.

:

01:00:51,150 --> 01:00:57,360

He would, I mean, he wasn't aggressive,

but he would run and, and chase and, um,

:

01:00:57,540 --> 01:01:02,280

when you would come in the, like into the,

the backyard from the garage, he would

:

01:01:02,700 --> 01:01:06,120

run at you and jump like lung at you.

:

01:01:06,810 --> 01:01:12,390

And he knocked me over several times

because he's just so excited you're home

:

01:01:12,990 --> 01:01:14,730

and want to give you that attention.

:

01:01:15,435 --> 01:01:19,005

So I said, can you come over

here and help me figure out how

:

01:01:19,005 --> 01:01:21,105

to get him to stop doing this?

:

01:01:22,155 --> 01:01:25,905

Um, well I can't because I've got my son.

:

01:01:25,935 --> 01:01:31,275

I can't because I'm this, I can't because,

and I said, well, if you don't come over

:

01:01:31,275 --> 01:01:35,805

here and help me, I said, then I'm going

to get, you're gonna take this dog back.

:

01:01:35,915 --> 01:01:38,615

He now, he is so good mannered.

:

01:01:38,825 --> 01:01:40,655

He doesn't jump on anybody.

:

01:01:40,685 --> 01:01:46,685

He's still ex exceptionally excited and

happy when anybody comes to see him.

:

01:01:46,985 --> 01:01:52,625

So I mean, it just, but I thought you

adopt out these dogs that are very strong

:

01:01:52,630 --> 01:01:55,295

and muscular and then you just walk away.

:

01:01:55,625 --> 01:01:59,315

You don't give any extra help with.

:

01:02:00,200 --> 01:02:02,090

How can I fix this problem?

:

01:02:02,630 --> 01:02:06,590

And then, and if I wouldn't have stuck

with it and he would've went back to

:

01:02:06,590 --> 01:02:11,060

Steffen's I wholeheartedly believe Coco

would've been put down for some reason.

:

01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:11,681

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

01:02:11,681 --> 01:02:16,270

She told me she eventually,

um, confronted him some place

:

01:02:16,270 --> 01:02:18,760

maybe back in like December.

:

01:02:19,360 --> 01:02:22,840

Um, after, you know, he had taken him

in June and he said, oh yeah, Peewee

:

01:02:22,840 --> 01:02:26,980

had passed away, you know, recently

and, you know, due to the old age.

:

01:02:26,985 --> 01:02:28,330

And, and that's what he had told her.

:

01:02:28,670 --> 01:02:31,790

Theresa Balsiger: Do you remember

when the Mars Food Company

:

01:02:31,790 --> 01:02:33,800

always did those adoption events?

:

01:02:33,830 --> 01:02:34,010

Yes.

:

01:02:34,190 --> 01:02:37,890

Did you, so it was during

that adoption event.

:

01:02:38,520 --> 01:02:46,070

We went, and I saw Steffen

and I said, how is Peewee?

:

01:02:46,280 --> 01:02:52,550

Because I think if I, if I remember

correctly, I'm not positive, but I think

:

01:02:52,550 --> 01:02:59,370

Stephanie had given me some kind of, I

need to talk, you need to talk to Steffen,

:

01:03:00,170 --> 01:03:06,890

and I was bound and determined, and when

I finally saw him during that event.

:

01:03:07,370 --> 01:03:10,700

He said, well, I never wanted to tell.

:

01:03:10,700 --> 01:03:16,430

I always wanted to tell you to your face

that I had put, had to put Peewee down.

:

01:03:17,020 --> 01:03:17,021

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

01:03:17,021 --> 01:03:21,070

So I told her that no Peewee

was euthanized on June 8th.

:

01:03:21,610 --> 01:03:26,860

You turned Peewee over to him on June

6th at like 6:00 PM on a Saturday night.

:

01:03:27,250 --> 01:03:28,960

And she refused to believe me.

:

01:03:28,990 --> 01:03:30,190

She would not believe me.

:

01:03:30,400 --> 01:03:34,450

She's like, there's no way that

Peewee was euthanized on the eighth.

:

01:03:34,450 --> 01:03:37,570

And I, I'm like telling you, I am

looking at the records right now.

:

01:03:37,810 --> 01:03:38,950

He was euthanized.

:

01:03:39,760 --> 01:03:41,830

She was beside herself.

:

01:03:42,550 --> 01:03:46,510

She thought that Peewee had died,

you know, due to just getting older.

:

01:03:47,080 --> 01:03:47,590

Um.

:

01:03:48,715 --> 01:03:53,695

And she just was, again, another

devastated person from hearing about

:

01:03:53,695 --> 01:03:56,545

just a sweet dog that she had videos of.

:

01:03:57,205 --> 01:04:01,525

Um, and this was just a sweet,

gentle dog that did not deserve that.

:

01:04:01,862 --> 01:04:04,262

Theresa Balsiger: He kept that

whole time, he kept saying, he's

:

01:04:04,262 --> 01:04:06,062

doing fine, he's doing fine.

:

01:04:06,092 --> 01:04:09,122

He's out sleeping under my kayaks.

:

01:04:09,812 --> 01:04:10,952

You know, he would give me.

:

01:04:11,807 --> 01:04:14,177

I mean, where he slept most of the day.

:

01:04:14,177 --> 01:04:15,947

He had a good dinner, you know this.

:

01:04:16,157 --> 01:04:21,377

So it was stuff that he made up

because Doc then, um, detective

:

01:04:21,377 --> 01:04:27,467

Conroy told me the very next day, so

I think whenever day we gave him on

:

01:04:27,467 --> 01:04:33,557

a Sunday or a Saturday, he said that

next day is when he was put down.

:

01:04:34,697 --> 01:04:36,737

And I went, you're kidding me?

:

01:04:36,737 --> 01:04:37,607

And he said, Nope.

:

01:04:38,237 --> 01:04:41,387

I am not, he said, and I'm sorry

to be the one to tell you that.

:

01:04:41,627 --> 01:04:41,628

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

01:04:41,628 --> 01:04:47,927

Thankfully, you know, so when I got

the vet records, um, you know, what he

:

01:04:47,927 --> 01:04:50,717

had told, uh, whoever had euthanized.

:

01:04:50,717 --> 01:04:53,657

I don't remember if it was you or

someone else who had euthanized.

:

01:04:53,657 --> 01:04:53,717

DrG: No.

:

01:04:53,717 --> 01:04:58,547

he brought him over to Rascal Animal

Hospital and told the doctor, Dr.

:

01:04:58,547 --> 01:05:04,877

Decker at that time, um, told her

that he was having problems, and I

:

01:05:04,877 --> 01:05:10,157

think even seizures and neurological

conditions and just not doing well.

:

01:05:10,210 --> 01:05:10,211

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

01:05:10,211 --> 01:05:10,540

Yeah.

:

01:05:10,540 --> 01:05:15,100

And neurological conditions, poor

quality of life, um, you know,

:

01:05:15,100 --> 01:05:18,790

palliative care and end of life, you

know, needs just need to be euthanized.

:

01:05:18,790 --> 01:05:25,779

Well, thankfully Theresa Balsiger had

taken Peewee to her vet and that report

:

01:05:25,779 --> 01:05:32,290

was nothing like, uh, what Baldwin gave

to you guys, which was complete opposite.

:

01:05:32,350 --> 01:05:34,570

You know, Peewee had a

very good quality of life.

:

01:05:34,660 --> 01:05:37,029

Peewee had no neurological conditions.

:

01:05:37,330 --> 01:05:41,950

Peewee was just a sweet boy that

was just starting from, lived

:

01:05:41,950 --> 01:05:47,620

a life of, of a horrible life,

neglect in a hoarding situation.

:

01:05:47,680 --> 01:05:52,270

Um, I believe he was tied outside,

uh, to a chain, uh, and a very

:

01:05:52,300 --> 01:05:56,500

short chain at that and, you know,

to finally get a chance in life.

:

01:05:56,560 --> 01:05:58,060

And there was no reason.

:

01:05:58,820 --> 01:06:00,170

Theresa Balsiger: I'd had him to Dr.

:

01:06:00,170 --> 01:06:03,190

Sullivan, who was my regular vet.

:

01:06:04,255 --> 01:06:06,385

And he said he was fine.

:

01:06:06,385 --> 01:06:12,685

He goes, he walked in circles, but he

said he walked in circles because he was

:

01:06:12,685 --> 01:06:15,145

on a chain for eight years of his life.

:

01:06:15,625 --> 01:06:22,090

And he goes, he will eventually

transition out of that, but you just

:

01:06:22,090 --> 01:06:23,770

have to let him do it on his own.

:

01:06:23,830 --> 01:06:24,670

And I said, all right.

:

01:06:24,670 --> 01:06:28,180

So we didn't force him and we would, he

would get out and he would go out in the

:

01:06:28,180 --> 01:06:33,250

yard and he would start meandering around

with the other dogs and doing things.

:

01:06:33,250 --> 01:06:36,220

So he was slowly getting out of that.

:

01:06:36,850 --> 01:06:40,360

My life is not at the

end of this chain always.

:

01:06:40,750 --> 01:06:41,080

DrG: Yeah.

:

01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:43,720

So he had like obsessive compulsive type,

:

01:06:44,529 --> 01:06:49,300

activity as far as just the circling,

that was not a neurologic problem.

:

01:06:49,300 --> 01:06:49,390

Yes.

:

01:06:49,450 --> 01:06:52,330

But more of a behavioral issue

from the condition that he

:

01:06:52,330 --> 01:06:53,920

was kept for so many years.

:

01:06:54,220 --> 01:06:55,060

Theresa Balsiger: Yes.

:

01:06:55,270 --> 01:06:56,350

That's what I mean.

:

01:06:56,350 --> 01:06:59,860

That's what we were, I, uh,

I don't know if you knew Dr.

:

01:06:59,860 --> 01:07:00,400

Sullivan.

:

01:07:00,550 --> 01:07:05,600

He passed, but he was one of

those, he just, he knew his stuff.

:

01:07:05,600 --> 01:07:07,040

He just was a great vet.

:

01:07:07,040 --> 01:07:07,850

And then he passed away.

:

01:07:07,850 --> 01:07:09,620

But he was like, no.

:

01:07:09,620 --> 01:07:16,565

He goes, keep him . So if I would've

seen any signs of Peewee not being where

:

01:07:16,565 --> 01:07:21,425

he couldn't make it, then we would've

not, we would've, you know, taken

:

01:07:21,425 --> 01:07:23,435

him in because I would've kept him.

:

01:07:23,435 --> 01:07:28,175

I've kept all of my dogs and I

would've kept his ashes, but I

:

01:07:28,175 --> 01:07:30,665

was, I, I feel like I was robbed.

:

01:07:31,645 --> 01:07:31,646

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

01:07:31,646 --> 01:07:34,375

She did not ask him to take,

he just took Peewee back.

:

01:07:34,915 --> 01:07:38,215

But he knew that no one, no

one would ask about Peewee.

:

01:07:38,215 --> 01:07:39,595

Peewee belonged to nobody.

:

01:07:39,835 --> 01:07:42,385

He belonged to a hoarding

house that he took Peewee from.

:

01:07:42,385 --> 01:07:44,035

No one was gonna ask about Peewee.

:

01:07:44,515 --> 01:07:47,540

He was getting, you know, he was

getting rid of a problem dog named Coco.

:

01:07:48,120 --> 01:07:49,945

And he's getting rid of a dog

:

01:07:49,945 --> 01:07:53,125

no one's gonna ask about, 'cause he didn't

like older dogs, which he had made the

:

01:07:53,125 --> 01:07:54,925

comment, he didn't like smaller dogs.

:

01:07:55,705 --> 01:07:59,605

Now, Peewee was only eight years

old, but when he euthanized

:

01:07:59,605 --> 01:08:01,915

Peewee, he had Peewee at 14.

:

01:08:01,915 --> 01:08:03,145

Now he would do this a lot.

:

01:08:03,145 --> 01:08:07,585

He would exaggerate ages and or

ailments or lie about ailments of what

:

01:08:07,585 --> 01:08:11,725

dogs did or have or that they did,

or who they fought or didn't fight.

:

01:08:12,055 --> 01:08:14,725

He would lie about all those

things when he had dogs euthanized.

:

01:08:15,154 --> 01:08:19,955

DrG: This case was really sad for

many reasons, but the impact that

:

01:08:19,955 --> 01:08:24,755

it had on the people that care about

Peewee, especially the humane agent,

:

01:08:24,935 --> 01:08:30,575

who thought that she was out there

helping him and taking him out of this

:

01:08:30,604 --> 01:08:36,484

horrible situation, eight years tied

to a chain, and now he's finally living

:

01:08:36,484 --> 01:08:44,645

his best life and she finds out that he

actually was euthanized for no reason.

:

01:08:45,198 --> 01:08:47,174

Stephanie Van Brimmer: I'm, I'm sad.

:

01:08:49,779 --> 01:08:53,774

I, I don't know that I

completely understand all of

:

01:08:53,774 --> 01:08:57,314

the, the decisions that he made.

:

01:08:58,634 --> 01:09:02,564

I am really disappointed that we

didn't give Peewee another opportunity.

:

01:09:04,844 --> 01:09:06,734

I'm really disappointed that

:

01:09:10,922 --> 01:09:18,932

I wish that I was in a position and

:

01:09:21,032 --> 01:09:22,261

that I, I could have

:

01:09:23,022 --> 01:09:25,877

helped, I guess, and I.

:

01:09:26,955 --> 01:09:33,495

I struggle with, um, understanding the

thought process on a lot of things.

:

01:09:34,635 --> 01:09:37,575

So I did not know that

Peewee was euthanized.

:

01:09:37,995 --> 01:09:46,785

And I know for a fact that if that was

the situation that Peewee was in, I

:

01:09:46,785 --> 01:09:48,615

know Theresa would've taken him back.

:

01:09:50,385 --> 01:09:50,535

Um.

:

01:09:50,835 --> 01:09:56,625

Um, I know it is difficult

to find fosters and own adopt

:

01:09:57,165 --> 01:10:00,375

adoptions for senior dogs, but um,

:

01:10:01,408 --> 01:10:04,077

I think there could have been

an op other opportunities.

:

01:10:05,248 --> 01:10:05,249

Det. Jim Conroy:

:

01:10:05,249 --> 01:10:11,308

That one really bothered me for

a long time, uh, that he was just

:

01:10:11,308 --> 01:10:14,128

so callous and cruel to do that.

:

01:10:14,128 --> 01:10:14,788

Like nothing.

:

01:10:14,788 --> 01:10:16,768

There was no thought to it.

:

01:10:17,068 --> 01:10:21,148

And then to lie about it, because he

did tell her in a message early on that

:

01:10:21,148 --> 01:10:23,638

Peewee was laying under the hammock.

:

01:10:24,298 --> 01:10:25,077

Out Sunning.

:

01:10:25,077 --> 01:10:26,008

Peewee was dead.

:

01:10:26,038 --> 01:10:30,418

He was making his lies about Peewee, you

know, how he was living life at his house.

:

01:10:31,288 --> 01:10:36,730

Um, it was just, I was, that's a tough

one, uh, that I really struggle with.

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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.