Woman accused of animal cruelty

3 kittens appear to suffer seizures after being left in hot car, Sheriff’s Office says

A 32-year-old homeless woman accused of leaving three small kittens inside a hot car in a church parking lot in Concord Township Sept. 23 will face felony charges, officials report.

According to a news release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were summoned by an anonymous 911 call to check on three kittens left inside a white Kia Spectra at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church, 9925 Johnnycake Ridge Road, about

11:53 a.m.

Deputy Donovan Buchs and Sheriff’s Lt. Todd MenMuir got to the scene at 12:01 and located the vehicle parked there in the 82-degree heat. No people were inside the car. All the windows were up and the passenger side was in direct sunlight, the sheriff’s office reports.

“Deputies looked inside and observed a small animal cage propped up on the passenger seat, almost even with the passenger door window,” the release reads. “There were three small kittens inside the cage and all three kittens were exposed to the sunlight.”

Buchs and MenMuir reported the three kittens “appeared to be suffering seizures as they were foaming at the mouth and twitching uncontrollably,” adding that the car was locked and they had to force their way into the vehicle to help the three felines.

“The interior of the vehicle was extremely hot,” the sheriff’s office statement continues. “Deputies removed the kittens from the sun exposure and utilized bottled water to cool the kittens’ body temperatures.”

According to reports, two responded to the water treatment but a third’s seizures persisted.

Buchs and MenMuir contacted Caroline’s Kids Cat Rescue Center, also in Concord Township, from where shelter manager Ellen Distler responded. She took the kittens to Lake Animal Hospital, 1777 Mentor Ave. in Painesville Township, where Dr. Amanda Kallay identified them as tabby kittens about 2 months old, the sheriff’s office reports.

Two of the tabbies are expected to recover while the third remained in critical condition Friday afternoon, according to the release, which also states the three kittens were not only severely dehydrated, but also flea infested.

Erica R. Petro, 32, who told authorities she is homeless and is having trouble attending to her own needs, was arrested at the scene, according to the statement.

She told investigators she was seeking assistance at the church and that she didn’t think she put the kittens in harm’s way, the sheriff’s office reports.

The sheriff’s office also reported Petro is in jail on three fifth-degree felony animal-cruelty counts, each punishable by up to 12 months behind bars.

She is the first person in Lake County to be charged under Ohio House Bill 60, also known as Goddard’s Law, which went into effect Sept. 13 and makes certain animal-cruelty cases felony offenses.

Petro