Published October 8, 2005 [ From the Lansing State Journal ]
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Info sought
• Anyone who recently purchased a dog from Karen Cochran or Walter Krause
of Dansville, or who has information relating to animal cruelty charges
against the two, is asked to contact Jamie McAloon Lampman, director of
Ingham County Animal Control, at 676-8376.
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Authorities seize 33 dogs found living in filth, feces
By T.M. Shultz
Lansing State Journal
DANSVILLE - Dozens of tiny dogs - most weighing no more than 3 pounds - suffered horribly at the hands of a Dansville man and woman arraigned Friday on animal cruelty charges, officials said.
Bugs crawled on the dogs' skin, infections oozed from their ears and eyes, and their legs fractured easily from brittle bones, said Jamie McAloon Lampman, director of Ingham County Animal Control, which investigated Karen Cochran, 54, and Walter Krause, 62.
Many of the dogs - mostly pugs, Yorkshire terriers and Pomeranians - also suffered from genetic problems. Teeth were loose or missing in many.
"The stench from their mouths was indicative of rotting flesh," said McAloon Lampman, whose office seized 33 dogs from Krause's home last month.
Cochran and Krause were arraigned Friday morning in Mason District Court on six counts of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said.
The two were released on personal recognizance bonds on the conditions they not contact witnesses in the case nor own or possess animals.
A pretrial date has not been set.
Repeated messages left at the number listed for Krause seeking comment were not returned. No one answered calls to a number believed to be Cochran's. No attorneys were listed with the court for the pair.
Dunnings said the pictures of the animals were so horrible that he wanted to file more serious charges. He couldn't, he explained, because the law requires a previous animal cruelty conviction before a person can be charged with felony animal cruelty.
The plight of the dogs came to light when the county received complaints last month from owners whose dogs were bought from Krause's property on Swan Road outside Dansville.
One of the dog owners is Ashleigh Fagoni of Midland. She paid $550 for 16-week-old Madison, a pug. Fagoni said she bought Madison from Cochran but never actually visited the property where the dogs were kept.
"On the ride home, I noticed (Madison) had fleas," Fagoni said. "She was so filthy that when we gave her a bath, the water looked like iced tea."
Two days later, Madison broke her leg. Fagoni said her veterinarian found Madison was underweight and had fragile bones. She also had ear mites and roundworms. "But we love her to death," Fagoni said.
Filthy conditions
"Our initial visit discovered 95 dogs," McAloon Lampman said.
The animals were living among layers of feces - some of it mixed with their food.
A large number of pregnant dogs were kept in a closed-up garage with no circulation at a time when temperatures exceeded 93 degrees outside, McAloon Lampman said.
When authorities made a second visit to the home, only 45 to 50 dogs were left, and conditions hadn't improved, she said.
Charges sought
After a third visit found no improvement and the number of dogs down to 33, officials took the animals to foster homes and asked the prosecutor to press charges.
"We gave them more than enough time," McAloon Lampman said.
"These poor animals really suffered from nothing but greed. This was all absolutely preventable. Cleanliness doesn't cost anything."
Contact T.M. Shultz at 377-1061 or tshultz@lsj.com.