A veterinarian who refused to return a canine to a homeless man after discovering the ailing pit bull combine tied to a truck was convicted of theft Friday in western Michigan.
Amanda Hergenreder took the canine on a two-hour drive to her clinic, the place she cleared up a extreme urinary tract an infection and eliminated a rotten tooth final November. She named him Biggby, after a close-by espresso store, and stated the 16-year-old canine was thriving whereas dwelling along with her.
However prosecutors filed a misdemeanor larceny cost after Hergenreder refused to convey the canine again to Chris Hamilton, a Grand Rapids man who lacked a everlasting dwelling on the time. She cited her moral duties as a veterinarian and famous that the canine wasn’t licensed.
Regardless of the controversy, Hergenreder informed jurors that she would do all of it once more “in a heartbeat.”
Protection legal professional Miles Greengard stated the veterinarian saved the canine as a result of there was no assurance that animal welfare authorities would examine his dwelling circumstances.
The trial in Grand Rapids, 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Detroit, lasted two days. A conviction for larceny can carry as much as 93 days of jail and a wonderful.
“She believed, as I consider, she did the suitable factor. What is true and what’s authorized usually are not at all times the identical factor,” Greengard informed The Related Press.
Hamilton gained’t be getting the canine again. Biggby — or Vinny as Hamilton known as him — was euthanized in July due to well being issues in previous age, Greengard stated.
Earlier this 12 months, Hamilton informed WOOD-TV that he had tied the canine to a U-Haul truck whereas he walked to a fuel station. “By no means felt the identical after dropping him,” he stated.
