Forrest, Bull Mastiff at Center of 2013 Animal Cruelty Case, Has Died

Forrest, the bull mastiff who was found shot and chained to a tree in Cleveland Heights and who later became the centerpiece of an Ohio animal cruelty criminal case, died last weekend.

We published an extensive feature on the case in January 2013.

Robin Stone and Patti Harris adopted Forrest and gave him a tremendous life, often making him the star of their social media posts (which featured their other pets, as well).

He became a symbol, in many ways, of the long-running struggle to reform animal cruelty laws in Ohio. When Goddard’s Law finally passed in 2016, making it a fifth-degree felony to “cause serious physical harm to a companion animal,” Forrest was there.

This article appears in Nov 22-28, 2017.