Macomb veterinarian faces animal cruelty charge

A Macomb County veterinarian is facing a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge after a video on social media showed alleged mistreatment, including what some officials said was beating, choking and slamming the dog.

Macomb County Animal Control examined the dog and determined that it was not hurt and that it bit a juvenile and a puppy in the veterinarian’s Ray Township home, the county prosecutor’s office said Monday.

The veterinarian, who has not been named because he has not been arraigned, is charged with animal cruelty, a 93-day misdemeanor, according to a release from the prosecutor’s office. The office is working with the veterinarian’s attorney for the man to turn himself in, spokeswoman Dawn Fraylick said.

Officials have worries about evidence

County officials, including the executive, sheriff and animal control officer, held a news conference Wednesday. The video of the alleged incident was removed from YouTube that day.

The prosecutor’s office said it has a copy of the YouTube video “but early press statements made before it is retrieved from the cellphone may now raise evidentiary challenges.”

“I ask that everyone please refrain from holding press conferences and making statements about evolving cases until all of the evidence is secured,” Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in his office’s release.

“We take these allegations very seriously and do not condone the mistreatment of animals in any regard,” he said.

German shepherd is at animal control

Just over an hour after the Free Press received the release from Lucido’s office, the executive’s office issued a release with a link to a video more than six minutes long with Executive Mark Hackel and Chief Animal

Control Officer Jeff Randazzo providing an update.

In that video, Hackel said the video of the alleged abuse was brought to their attention from the state police after people saw it and were concerned about the dog.

He said the dog, a German shepherd named Josie, is being cared for at animal control with two other dogs from the home. He described the case as “a man abusing a dog on video” and called it “pretty horrific.”

“We had to get these dogs out of there for their own protection and for their own good.”

“We are fortunate that charges are being brought, and the person is being held accountable for what they did to this dog,” said Hackel, the county’s former sheriff.

“It’s sad (the dogs) had to be removed because, you know, there is a connection with the kids and the wife. But because that subject in that home, just by his actions, there’s no question we had to get these dogs out of there for their own protection and for their own good,” Hackel said.

The release said the phone that allegedly recorded the incident was collected as evidence by the sheriff ’s office, but deputies have not yet been able to retrieve its contents.

Lucido said he would welcome improvements to Michigan’s animal cruelty statute, which he said currently offers only limited options to prosecutors for this set of facts.

Randazzo said in the video Monday that the dogs will be placed in “very experienced” foster care and trainers will start working with them.

Hackel said people reached out wanting the dog in the video, “but we just can’t do that. We just can’t give the dog to somebody. There has to be a process.”

Hackel called the actions against the dog “very inappropriate” and said they could lead to questioning of the man’s license.

“We take animal abuse and violence against animals very seriously,” Randazzo said.