A district judge ruled Wednesday there is enough evidence to send an animal-cruelty case to trial.
Elvin L. High, owner of Highgrade Kennels in West Hempfield Township, appeared before District Judge Robert A. Herman Jr. for a preliminary hearing on eight counts of animal cruelty related to the level of care provided to dogs at his business.
Assistant District Attorney Christine L. Wilson argued the case against High, who was convicted of animal cruelty in 2002.
Two of the misdemeanor charges stemmed from two sickly dogs at High's kennels on April 24 and April 25. One dog, a mastiff, was later euthanized at High's request. The remaining charges were filed because High allegedly admitted cropping the ears of at least 18 dogs on his property at 4406 Marietta Ave.
Veterinarian Bryan Langlois testified that when he examined the Neapolitan mastiff, named Zeus, on April 24, the dog was lying on his side and could not stand or sit. Langlois said the dog was paddling his front legs and moving his eyes in a circular motion, indicating brain injury. He also testified Zeus was emaciated and dehydrated, so he recommended the dog be taken to a veterinarian that day.
On April 25, Langlois was sent to High's property to examine the health of the remaining dogs. He testified a French bulldog named Sally Jane appeared to be in pain and showed signs of infection between her toes and in a wound on one of her hind legs. Langlois said straw was imbedded in the dog's infected ears.
"You could literally just pull the skin up and off, which is not normal," Langlois testified.
Another vet, Andrea Honigmann, who treated the mastiff at High's request, testified the dog was in shock when it arrived at her practice. Honigmann said Zeus didn't respond to IV fluids and antibiotics, so High decided to have him euthanized.
Both veterinarians testified the dogs suffered "severe distress" and that High should have sought medical care for them earlier. In the mastiff's case, Langlois testified the animal should have been seen by a vet three weeks earlier.
Humane Society police Officer Keith Mohler testified he filed the animal-cruelty charges as misdemeanor offenses rather than lower-penalty summary offenses because of High's previous animal-cruelty conviction. Mohler testified that, among the 60 dogs he found on High's property, he saw some with cropped ears and that High admitted to cropping the dogs' ears himself.
High's attorney, Cory J. Miller, argued that the veterinarians' testimony didn't meet the legal threshold for "severe distress" required to prove animal cruelty.
"Ear infections come and go. They itch; they need antibiotics. But (Mohler) admits the dog's condition was not life-threatening. … " Miller said. "At some point, we have to be reasonable about the charges that are filed."
Herman said given the testimony and photographs of the dogs at the time of treatment, Wilson succeeded in making the case that High should be tried in county court.
High also faced 14 citations filed by the state's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement for poor conditions at his kennels. Bureau prosecutor Jeff Paladina agreed to drop all but five of the most serious citations in exchange for High's guilty plea for the remainder.
In May, the bureau revoked High's license to operate a breeding kennel. The state does not issue kennel licenses to breeders convicted of animal cruelty.
Kennel license applications ask applicants if they have been convicted of animal cruelty.
However, state agriculture department spokesman Chris Ryder said the bureau has no ability to verify an applicant's claims via criminal background checks because the ag department is not a criminal-justice agency.
Twenty-two dogs remain in High's custody — just under the 24-dog maximum allowed before a kennel license is required.
Said Miller, "A misdemeanor is the lowest level of crime recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, so my client has the right to a trial and may be forced to go the distance as a matter of principle."
E-mail: slindt@lnpnews.com