(OnFocus) Robert Wild of Marshfield appeared in Wood County Court for a final pre-trial on Friday.
Wild faced two misdemeanor counts of intentionally mistreating and abandoning animals for allegedly leaving a litter of newborn puppies in a dumpster on February 28.
During the pre-trial, Wild’s attorney stated Wild dumped the puppies, went to Walmart, felt bad about his action, and when he came home the puppies were gone.
“Why would you put them in a garbage can to begin with, sir?” Judge Potter said.
Wild claimed that the smell of urine compelled his action.
Count 1 of animal mistreatment was dismissed. Pending a potential restitution hearing, $5,018.95 will be paid to Marshfield Area Pet Shelter, which undertook the care of the newborn puppies until they could be adopted.
“Throwing them in a garbage can is not an option. What shocks me more, sir, is this is coming from a breeder,” the judge said.
Wild is sentenced to 30 days in jail with Huber work release along with 1-year probation. Huber work release means a person confined to Jail can continue to maintain employment and support their families.
The judge plans to further research a state statute on the 5-year ban of pet ownership. This will be decided next Friday at 9 a.m. Wild plead no contest to Count 2 of Intentionally Abandoning Animals.
Wild originally plead not guilty on April 22. A bail/bond hearing was later held on May 23 regarding a motion to modify his bond and remove the other animals in Wild’s care. The motion was denied, meaning Wild would retain possession of his animals at this time. On June 21, Wild’s court appearance was delayed to Sept. 6 to allow his attorney more time to review the case.
The puppies were discovered by a traveling salesman after he heard noises coming from the trash can. The litter plus one additional puppy born later were fostered by Marshfield Area Pet Shelter and have since been adopted into new homes. The puppies’ story gathered attention from both national and international news media, including CBS’ Inside Edition.
Author: News Desk
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