Woman Sentenced For Letting Dog Freeze To Death
www.nbc10.com
June 9, 2004, MIDDLE TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- A Cape May County woman was found guilty of animal cruelty Wednesday after letting a dog freeze to death.
The animal was found tied to a tree without food outside Michele Wilson's home in Middle Township last winter. It was frozen to the ground.
On Wednesday, Judge Peter Tourison decided Wilson should spend time behind bars. "I'm satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt she didn't provide the necessary shelter," Tourison said.
Wilson cried in court as the judge convicted the mother of three of animal cruelty connected to the fate of the dog.
"I think she's a very calloused person. I hope she treats human beings, especially her children, better than she did this animal," said Mary Darcy Bittner, the prosecutor.
In February, less than two months after videotape showed the dog tethered to a tree in the cold, animal control officer Bill Candell found the emaciated boxer, named Joe, outside the home Wilson rents in Middle Township.
Candell had previously told Wilson to provide the dog with proper food and shelter. "There was no reason or excuse for it," Candell said.
Wilson was previoiusly acquitted of a charge of not properly feeding the animal and another offense similar to the one the judge convicted her of on Wednesday.
Wilson was ordered to spend five days in jail. "It's horrible," Wilson said outside the courtroom. She was also ordered to pay more than $200 in fines and court costs.
Tourison didn't buy her argument that she wasn't responsible for the dog's well-being because the animal belonged to her boyfriend.
"I didn't want the dog at my house in the beginning. I'm just a nice person, that's all I have to say," Wilson told NBC 10 News.
Animal welfare activists wanted a longer sentence but still applauded the outcome.
Wilson is expected to begin her jail term on June 25. She plans to talk to the public defender's office about filing an appeal.
The judge barred her from having any pets for a period of one year. If she violates that order, she will face more jail time and a much stiffer fine.
