The SPCA was not fooled, however, and Jason Dotson, 32, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail at the Hamilton County Justice Center and his bond was set at $50,000, Cincinnati.com reports.
Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Brad Greenberg determined that Dotson’s pit bull-type dog was vicious, after it attacked a service dog and its senior citizen owner, who has Parkinson’s disease, WKRC reports. Robert Martin was bitten when he tried to defend his dog, Buddy as he was attacked by Dotson’s dog. Buddy survived but is no longer able to be a service dog because of his extensive injuries.
Springfield Township police said that Dotson gave Martin a fake name and address, but a local mail carrier helped police track him down, Raw Story reports.
He was charged with confinement of dogs after the attack.
Dotson’s dog often ran loose, neighbors said.
According to court documents, Dotson initially failed to euthanize his dog and was ordered to make a court appearance regarding a probation violation.
Prosecutors said during the hearing that Dotson adopted another SPCA dog and came back two days later, telling employees that the rescue dog was the one slated for euthanasia.
Fortunately an SPCA employee recognized the rescue dog, named Baby, and exposed Dotson’s scheme, The Dodo reports.
Along with the 30-day sentence, Dotson also received a stiff lecture from the judge, Raw Story reports.
“In my 10 years as a judge I can’t recall a more cold and heartless act,” Greenberg said. “If I could give you more time, legally, I would.”
He continued:
“It’s one thing for you to ignore a court order, it’s quite another thing to try to perpetrate a fraud on this court — and you tried to have an innocent dog killed.”
Now, 15-month-old Baby is back at the shelter, The Dodo reports. The dog that Dotson tried to save has been put down. Anyone interested in adopting this dog can visit the Cincinnati SPCA’s website.
For his part, Dotson paid full restitution, admitted to the crime and apologized for the actions in court.
