Todd Gaerin

8 emaciated dogs rescued

El Cajon, CA

February 16, 2006

Todd Gaerin, 41, of El Cajon was convicted on Friday, May 19^th after being found guilty of seven misdemeanor counts of animal abuse and not guilty on one court.  He was also convicted of misdemeanor charges of failure to properly license the dogs, having an unlawful number of dogs in a kennel, failure to immunize and failure to care for an animal.

On February 16^th a neighbor called Animal Control Officers to report several ‘skinny dogs’ wandering around Gaerin’s property.  When questioned about the dogs, Gaerin replied he ‘liked ‘em lean’. 

El Cajon Animal Control Officer Wade Stalker testified that when he went to Gaerin’s home, the dogs were ‘just a rack of bones’. It was also found that the dogs’ ears were dirty to the point that they seemed deaf. Stalker’s partner took an empty can of dog food outside and the dogs all got excited and went after it.  Stalker stated that Gaerin had two full, unopened 50-pound bags of dog food in the home – Gaerin stated he had fed the animals the night before.

Stalker also stated that a hose dripping into a bucket in the backyard was the only drinking water provided for the dogs.  The dogs were so emaciated that Stalker felt there was a very good chance they would die.

The dogs are now in good health and have all had significant weight gains.  Their hearing improved as soon as their ears were cleaned.

Sentencing was scheduled for June 8th before Superior Court Judge Larrie Brainard.

Update 6/16/06:

Gaerin was found guilty of 7 misdemeanor charges of animal abuse, failure to properly care for an animal and failure to obtain a license for a dog over 4 months old.  The jury also convicted Gaerin of failing to properly immunize his dogs and illegally operating a kennel, both misdemeanors.

Gaerin was acquitted of 1 count of animal abuse as one dog that was not as thin or malnourished as the other dogs.

The judge allowed Gaerin to keep 1 dog while on probation.  Judge Brainard said he believed there as no “mean-spiritedness” in Gaerin’s actions and that he had tried but was unable to properly care for the dogs when he became ill.  Gaerin is also unemployed.

Gaerin has been placed on 5 years probation and ordered to pay more than $12,900 in restitution to animal control.

Update 8/1/06:

The El Cajon Animal Shelter has five dogs ready for adoption that were taken away from a man accused of animal cruelty.  The dogs are German shepherd and Spaniel mixes. They are all between 7 and 8 years old and have been at the shelter for several months.

Shelter Officials state that three of the dogs are female, and they are all housebroken. The dogs have been determined to be ‘best suited for a family with older children’.  One of the females, Audrey, is very active and needs a home with an active owner, possibly a jogger looking for a running partner.

         

 

          

 (Photo’s courtesy of NBC San Diego)

Reference:

10News

NBC San Diego

Turks.US