Dumpster puppies spark legislation
For the Hub City Times
MARSHFIELD – Following the infamous “dumpster puppies” case that drew national attention to Marshfield last winter, state lawmakers Representative John Spiros and Senator Jerry Petrowski have co-authored a bill to toughen the penalty for animal abuse with the intent to kill.
Spiros says ironically because the pups were fortunately rescued by a passer-by, under current state law the alleged abuser was actually allowed to plea bargain and even keep his remaining animals. “What’s happened is, because those puppies didn’t die that individual did a plea bargain and the maximum he could be charged with is a misdemeanor,” he said.
According to Spiros, who is from Marshfield where the dumpster puppies incident happened, the new law would increase the penalty to a Class 1 felony. “What we did is, we changed the law to say that he has the intent to kill these puppies and he could be guilty of a felony,” he explained.
The bill would also ensure that serious animal abusers would not be able to have any animals in their home in the future.
The alleged abuser in the dumpster puppies case, Robert Wild of Marshfield, appeared in Wood County Court in early September, facing two misdemeanor counts of intentionally mistreating animals and was allowed to keep his remaining pets.
The bill could become law by the end of the current legislative session.