Felony animal cruelty law expanded

SANDUSKY — This past week, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously that felony-level animal cruelty charges could be applied to those accused of abusing all cats and dogs, not just those kept as pets. The state Supreme Court, on Wednesday, made a ruling in a criminal court case appeal that expanded protections for animals under Ohio's Goddard's Law, an animal cruelty statute named after Fox 8 Cleveland meteorologist and well-known animal activist Dick Goddard. It was signed into law in 2016 and specified that neglect or harm to a "companion animal" is a fifth-degree felony. The law defined "companion animals" as an animal "kept inside a residential dwelling" and also applies to any dog or cat "regardless of where it is kept." Background The ruling was a result of an appeal from a Cuyahoga County case. In October 2021, Cleveland police responded to an apartment complex to a report of an injured cat soaked in bleach. A man, Alonzo Kyles, when questioned by police, admitted to pouring bleach down the stairs to get the cat to leave, Ohio Supreme Court records state. Kyles, who claimed he was afraid of cats, was later indicted on a single felony count of animal cruelty, where he was found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison. The dispute between Kyles and prosecutors centered around the definition of "kept" in Goddard's Law. Kyles argued that an animal had to be "kept," or owned by someone, to be defined as a companion animal, according to an article from Court News Ohio. Prosecutors, meanwhile, contented that the language in the statute means all cats and dogs are protected under the law, wherever the animal is found and whether or not it is "kept" by someone. On Wednesday, the high court sided with prosecutors' arguments in a 7-0 unanimous decision and sent Kyles' case to a lower-level court for further proceedings. The ruling, though, will have a lasting impact in its definition of all cats and dogs — both domesticated pets and strays — being included in the Goddard's Law statute. Local reaction Erie County Dog Warden Barb Knapp said she is happy with the Ohio Supreme Court's decision to expand felony-level criminal penalties in animal abuse cases. "It's always a plus to have harsher penalties as the animals can't speak for themselves, and somebody needs to speak for them," Knapp said. With this most recent ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court, Knapp said that Ohio is now joining various states that have stricter criminal penalties for abusing animals regardless of whether or not they are strays.