Carmichaels woman whose dog died pleads to reduced animal cruelty charges
CARMICHAELS – A former Nemacolin woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to 22 summary offenses related to animal cruelty after her female dog and at least one of nine puppies died from neglect at her home in July.
Two misdemeanor cruelty to animals charges against Jessica Dawn Johnston, 34, were amended to summary offenses to accompany 10 cruelty to animals charges, one dog license violation and nine confined within premises of the owner charges.
District Judge Lee Watson was happy to learn Johnston, now living in Carmichaels, no longer owns any pets.
“You don’t have any pets at this point, do you?” Watson asked before concluding the hearing.
“No, I don’t,” Johnston responded.
“Thank you,” Watson said.
Johnston was charged in August after Cumberland Township police said she was not home for two weeks in July while her dog was chained up outside of her home. Police responded after a neighbor reported the situation and said she had been giving the dogs food and water.
The dog, which had nine puppies, eventually was found dead with its head resting on a cinder block, police wrote in court documents. One of the puppies also died.
“The puppies were loose and not contained in any way,” police said.
Watson issued a total $2,500 fine, not including court costs or restitution owed to the Humane Society of Greene County or the agency that helped find the puppies foster homes. Watson did not approve a request by Johnston’s attorney, Kimberly Furmanek, to pay the fine through serving community service.
Watson warned of a jail sentence that could be imposed if Johnston failed to make timely payments on her fines.
“You need to make sure you keep up with your payments, otherwise you’ll have a different payment,” he said in court.
“I’m not going to jail. I’m a single parent. That’s not happening,” Johnston said.
Cumberland Township Officer Eric Orr said any possible restitution would be determined at a later date.
Johnston was reportedly not staying at the home because the power had been turned off. She told police she knew the dog died but could not take care of her due to “other family problems,” the criminal complaint said.
Police said the female dog was not licensed at the time of its death. Three of the puppies were adopted by neighbors at the scene, police said, and six were taken to the Humane Society of Greene County, where one of them later died from the neglect.
The puppies, believed to be St. Bernard mixes, were given to a rescue organization north of Pittsburgh, who then put the puppies in foster homes where they could get better, one-on-one attention and care, according to Jane Gapen, director of the humane society.