Rita Swartz pleaded guilty to abandoning her ill 15-year-old pug, Agnes, claiming she had sought out local shelters for assistance but was turned away.
Agnes was found by Wadsworth police in a container close to the clothing donation spot with multiple health problems and was brought to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. To set an example, the SPCA asked the judge to give Swartz the maximum sentence possible.
The maximum sentence for animal cruelty is 90 days, and while Swartz was sentenced to 90 days in jail, 89 of those days have been suspended by the court. Swartz is, however, facing five years of probation and is prohibited from having another dog during that time.
Meanwhile, Agnes was adopted and renamed Fawn.
This article appears in Feb 13-19, 2019.
Tie her to the clothing donation container and let her sit there for a few days and nights.
The judge needs to be punished. Suspended 89 days of the 90 day sentence! Slap on the wrist. This fragile dog was in severe need and the judge obviously thought nothing of her terror of being blind and deaf and being left in a container. We don’t need any more judges like this presiding over animal abuse cases.