MONROE - Amy or Aimee?
An apparent mix-up between two female dogs of the same age and breed who share the same phonetic name took up hours of testimony in Green County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Feb. 22, during an evidentiary hearing for a Brodhead woman accused of animal mistreatment.
Melissa Harrel, 58, was one of four people charged with animal mistreatment after the sheriff's department seized 46 dogs, mostly Great Danes, in May from a home near Brodhead, citing squalid conditions and improper ventilation.
Harrel identified 17 of the dogs as her own. She faces Class A misdemeanor charges of intentionally mistreating animals and improperly ventilating an animal shelter.
These charges were not addressed Wednesday in court, however. Harrel's defense attorney Sheila Kessler instead called witnesses to the stand to prove the sheriff's department had botched documentation of the dogs' identities, leading to a mix-up between two Great Danes named Amy and Aimee.
A deputy who assisted in the seizure testified that some dogs' identification tags fell off their necks or were chewed off by other dogs before they were transported from the residence to the Green County Humane Society.
"So it's possible some dogs left the house without identification," Deputy Joseph Youngblood said.
Another deputy, Scott Ellefson, testified he oversaw the seizure and documentation of dogs but admitted the chain of custody could have broken at some point.
"As far as I know, all dogs had identification as they left the house," he said.
On the day of the seizure, he testified, the only concern he heard about ownership was confusion from the three other defendants, Kathy J. Williams, Donovan F. Williams and Allyson J. Williams.
"The Williams themselves weren't sure which dog belonged to whom," he said.
Kessler's legal partner, veterinarian Marthina Greer, testified that she was not given adequate opportunity to examine Harrel's dogs after the seizure in early June.
Greer said she was not allowed to see the dogs in the Green County Humane Society, was denied access to a scale and forced to perform her evaluations under chaotic circumstances in a parking garage at the sheriff's department.
"I was really concerned that the dogs might bolt," said Greer, who practices in Lomira, a town south of Fond du Lac, and has been licensed in the state since 1981, according to online records.
Kessler's examinations Wednesday were lengthy, and Judge Thomas Vale ran out of time to hear all of her witnesses. The evidentiary hearing continues Thursday at 1:15 p.m. with two final witnesses, Paul Barrett and Deb Broge of the Green County Humane Society, expected.
An apparent mix-up between two female dogs of the same age and breed who share the same phonetic name took up hours of testimony in Green County Circuit Court on Wednesday, Feb. 22, during an evidentiary hearing for a Brodhead woman accused of animal mistreatment.
Melissa Harrel, 58, was one of four people charged with animal mistreatment after the sheriff's department seized 46 dogs, mostly Great Danes, in May from a home near Brodhead, citing squalid conditions and improper ventilation.
Harrel identified 17 of the dogs as her own. She faces Class A misdemeanor charges of intentionally mistreating animals and improperly ventilating an animal shelter.
These charges were not addressed Wednesday in court, however. Harrel's defense attorney Sheila Kessler instead called witnesses to the stand to prove the sheriff's department had botched documentation of the dogs' identities, leading to a mix-up between two Great Danes named Amy and Aimee.
A deputy who assisted in the seizure testified that some dogs' identification tags fell off their necks or were chewed off by other dogs before they were transported from the residence to the Green County Humane Society.
"So it's possible some dogs left the house without identification," Deputy Joseph Youngblood said.
Another deputy, Scott Ellefson, testified he oversaw the seizure and documentation of dogs but admitted the chain of custody could have broken at some point.
"As far as I know, all dogs had identification as they left the house," he said.
On the day of the seizure, he testified, the only concern he heard about ownership was confusion from the three other defendants, Kathy J. Williams, Donovan F. Williams and Allyson J. Williams.
"The Williams themselves weren't sure which dog belonged to whom," he said.
Kessler's legal partner, veterinarian Marthina Greer, testified that she was not given adequate opportunity to examine Harrel's dogs after the seizure in early June.
Greer said she was not allowed to see the dogs in the Green County Humane Society, was denied access to a scale and forced to perform her evaluations under chaotic circumstances in a parking garage at the sheriff's department.
"I was really concerned that the dogs might bolt," said Greer, who practices in Lomira, a town south of Fond du Lac, and has been licensed in the state since 1981, according to online records.
Kessler's examinations Wednesday were lengthy, and Judge Thomas Vale ran out of time to hear all of her witnesses. The evidentiary hearing continues Thursday at 1:15 p.m. with two final witnesses, Paul Barrett and Deb Broge of the Green County Humane Society, expected.