(From Courier-Post) Robert McCann, a former Chesilhurst councilman, was convicted Thursday of four counts of animal cruelty after a municipal court judge found he had failed to provide sufficient shelter for a dog after she delivered a litter of puppies in a cold snap last winter.
Specially appointed Municipal Judge William Golden dismissed five additional animal cruelty counts. He imposed a $1,200 fine on McCann, ordered him to pay $894.93 restitution to the animal hospital that cared for the dog and puppies, and also ordered 100 hours of community service.
Golden suspended imposition of the sentence while McCann, 51, appeals the conviction.
McCann, who was a member of the borough council when he was charged with the offenses in February 2007, said the charges were filed in retaliation after he filed notice he planned to seek election as mayor in the Camden County municipality.
A paralegal, McCann said prosecution witnesses, including representatives of animal welfare groups, had lied about him and portrayed him as “some kind of monster.”
Golden said he “knows nothing about political machinations” that led to the disorderly persons charges.
He described McCann as “a good enough gentleman who used bad judgment.”
Golden found that some testimony presented by witnesses called by David Mapp, a specially-appointed municipal prosecutor for the case, was unchallenged. That included testimony that a Labrador-retriever mix female dog, Coco, that McCann had cared for for about six years delivered a litter of puppies before dawn in February 2001.
The day of the birth of the puppies, and the size of the litter, were not certain, Golden found. The adult dog and the puppies were inside an Igloo-style doghouse while the temperature was about 22 degrees.
McCann said he did not attempt to bring the dogs inside his house, but advised a member of the family to put some hay inside the doghouse and to make no attempt to touch the puppies.
The day after the birth of the puppies, Kathy McGuire, founder of New Jersey Aid for Animals, a nonprofit animal rescue group, paid McCann $250, according to her testimony, and took the adult dog and between 12 and 15 puppies to the Marlton Animal Hospital in Evesham. Only five of the puppies survived. Veterinarian Dr. Honey Rothberg determined the rest of the litter died of complications from hypothermia.
Rothberg had testified newborn puppies should be kept in an area where temperatures are about 85 degrees. She said the body temperatures of the puppies brought to her were so low they did not register on a thermometer.
The five puppies that survived were adopted, McGuire said, and Coco was spayed before being returned to McCann in April 2007.
3/7/08 – COCO’s DAY IN COURT has FINALLY COME !
Check out the NEWS Video from today, March 7th
Kathy McGuire took the witness stand for Coco and her puppies today, March 7th, at the McCANN vs. NJSPCA Court Hearing. Court will reconvene Thursday, March 13th at 2pm