A Stroud man who owned a Maltese breeding operation pleaded not guilty to 408 felony counts of animal cruelty at his formal arraignment on Sept. 16. He appeared at the Lincoln County Courthouse before District Judge Sarah Bridges.
Jerry Hine, 83, owner of Add Love Pets, LLC, in Stroud, waived his right to a reading of his charges and previously waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Sept. 11. His next court appearance will be at a status conference on Nov. 4, with a disposition hearing set for Jan. 6 if the case is not resolved.
Hine was arrested and charged on July 15 after 408 Maltese dogs and puppies were removed from his business premises in a joint effort by the Stroud Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Forestry (ODAF), the Humane Society of Tulsa, and other animal rescues.
His bond was set at $25,000.
A search warrant was granted on July 14 after a representative with Skiatook Paws and Claws Animal Shelter made a report to the Stroud PD earlier that same day, according to the probable cause affi davit.
The woman told Ofc. Chris Martin that she arrived at Add Love Pets on July 12 to take possession of about 60 dogs after communicating with the owner. Hine told her he was going into a nursing home soon and needed to “thin out” his dogs. When she saw the condition of the location and the large number of dogs, the woman asked him to let her take all of the dogs. Hine refused and yelled at her.
The probable cause affi davit described the deplorable conditions inside the shop, saying the dogs were piled up in cages and kennels, with many matted. Martin said that upon entering the building, officers were immediately overwhelmed with the strong smell of what appeared to be urine and feces.
“Also, immediately upon entry, my eyes began to burn from the strong chemical smell. Large amounts of fecal matter were in each pen along with the dogs,” he said.
ODAF Field Inspector Supervisor Keith Smith measured the ammonia in the air, advising that a reading over 20 ppm (parts per million) could cause loss of sight in dogs. The reading at that time, according to the affi davit, registered at over 100 ppm.
Custody of the dogs was handed over to the Humane Society of Tulsa, which still has about 235 of the dogs and puppies as of last week.
Many are available for adoption through their website, with more expected to become available.