Man admits to animal cruelty

NORRISTOWN >> A Lower Pottsgrove man faces court supervision for his “cruel” treatment of a dog by keeping the animal in a hot shed with no ventilation, a crime that was discovered when the dog tried to chew his way out.

Harry Albert Linderman, 55, who lived in Shaner’s Trailer Park in the 3000 block of East High Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to three years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals and neglect of animals in connection with the July 5, 2018, incident.

Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Linderman to complete 100 hours of community service.

The judge added Linderman cannot own or possess animals other than the one cat that he currently owns.

An investigation of Linderman began about 4:10 p.m. July 5 when Lower Pottsgrove police responded to the trailer park for a report of a dog “trapped in a shed.” When police arrived at Linderman’s lot they observed a dog’s head protruding from underneath two doors of a shed that was “latched shut,” court documents alleged.

“It appeared that the dog chewed his way through the bottom of the doors and then got stuck once his head was out,” Lower Pottsgrove Police Officer David A. McKechnie alleged in the arrest affidavit. “The dog was panting heavily and had bloody scrapes and missing skin all over his face. There was saliva and blood pooling around the dog’s head. It appeared he had been trapped like that for some time.”

At the time of the incident, police said the thermometer in the patrol car read 99 degrees and the temperature inside the shed was significantly higher, McKechnie alleged.

“There was feces covering the floor of the shed where the dog was being kept. There was no ventilation to let air flow in and out of the shed,” McKechnie alleged.

When confronted by police, Linderman stated he was taking care of the dog and admitted he was aware of the conditions in which the animal was being kept, according to the arrest affidavit.

An animal control officer responded to the scene and “confirmed these conditions were cruel” and placed the animal at imminent risk of serious bodily injury. The dog was transported to a local veterinary hospital where he was treated for overheating and facial wounds, court papers indicate.