# Police investigating dog deaths in Paradise (PA)



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Police investigating dog deaths in Paradise | PoconoRecord.com


> State police at Swiftwater are investigating whether to file animal cruelty charges after 10 neglected German shepherds were found at a Paradise Township residence Monday.
> 
> Police were called to the home on the 100 block of Clarks Road at 9 a.m. for a report of several dogs that did not have food or water.
> (more in article)


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## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

My god how awful. The guy may have hired someone to care for his dogs but he should have checked on them periodically.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I contacted AWSOM earlier today and below is the response



> It is a State Police investigation now. AWSOM took in 7 live GSD’s yesterday and two were taken to ESVH where they did well overnight. We are waiting as the investigation continues. There apparently are no other live dogs.




My understanding is MAGSR has also been in contact with the shelter.


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

I'm glad the remaining dogs seem to be doing well.

It just pisses me off so much when this stuff happens. I worked in law enforcement for 25 years and if they get the person responsible, I have a few "investigative and interview techniques" I'd like to try out, starting with putting that 'person' in a tiny kennel for a few days with nothing.


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## Zoeys mom (Jan 23, 2010)

Why are they just "thinking" about filing charges? Unfeed, covered in feces, no water, dirty unsanitary conditions, and 3 deaths stemming from these exact conditions? Gee if pressing charges in these conditions takes actual thought I'm scared for every dog in the State that is ludicrous


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

Usually, the police do the investigative work and forward everything to the prosecutors office to determine if charges will be filed.
It could just be that the prosecutor is making sure there is enough evidence and information to actually file criminal charges.
In a case like this, it's harder than you think to actually get a conviction, based on the "I hired someone to look after them."
I'm guessing that they'll never find the "someone."


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

The guy hired someone to take care of his dogs because his wife was sick in the hospital and he needed to be there. 

I can see how this could be hard to prosecute. Let's say I tell John Dough (good friend of the family) that my husband is sick in the hospital. And he tells, me just let me know if there is anything you need. 

Yes, you say, could you feed the dogs for me. 

Sure, no problem.

Then you are there at the hospital with your spouce, and the dogs are not first in your mind.

In the mean time your friend goes over and puts food in each kennel and fills water buckets. He is done. 

You are thinking he is taking care of them. 

He is thinking you wanted him to care for them that night. 

You should have been more clear about it, and checked with him after a few days to make sure everything was going ok, but maybe your total being was taken over by your spouce's predicament. 

Unfortunately, the dogs suffer. Everyone thinks they too care of the issue.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

This email came with pics of the prison these dogs were kept in...along with the heart wrenching pics of the dead dogs. If anyone would like the email...contact me privately. The cells these dogs were kept in were caked with cobwebs...the pics are horrible 




Peter Zervas , owner of the Blue Comet diner in Hazelton will appear before Judge John D Whitesell on MARCH 30TH @ 9:30 AM Judge Whitesell 's Office is on Route 390 in Mountainhome. PETER ZERVAS must now answer to the starvation death of 3 German Shepherds and the emaciated condition of the remaining German Shepherds we named Hope, Faith Van, Falco , Foxxy, Hero and Braveheart. Please clear your schedule, his courtroom holds 50 people. We want to fill the courtroom and sidewalk and parking lot. We want this Puke to go Jail. 

Please send you letters demanding that he receives the maximum sentence for the abuse of FALCO, FOXXY, BRAVEHEART, HERO, VAN, FAITH AND HOPE. They Survived! Hero escaped and saved their lives. Unfortunately, we could not save, Courage, Justice and Angel. They died of Starvation before we could reached them. Justice only weighted less than 30 lbs. We thought he was a 4 month old puppy. The Dr said he died of starvation and he was 8 to 10 YEARS Old. PETER ZERVAS Has no compassion for animals. These dogs were breed and breed and breed. They never saw the light of day, They never came out of their cell blocks. They are currently receiving round the clock vet care. They have pressure wounds on their bodies from laying on a cement floor covered in their own urine and feces. Their bodies burned much of their muscles to survive. They were left without food or water for a month or more. Hero clawed his way out and went to a kind loving neighbor who discovered the filthy , dark, cold dungeon.

It is now time that he answers to the10 counts of animal cruelty. Please send your letters to Judge Whitesell, P.0. Box 213, MOUNTAINHOME, PA 18342. ASK FOR THE MAXIMUM SENTANCE. 


PLEASE DO NOT FORGET THE HORROR! WE WANT HIM IN A CELL BLOCK NOW, NOT JUST A FINE. WE WANT JAIL


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

Wait- the "I hired someone to take care of them" excuse seems to come up a lot in these cases.  The owner is responsible for the dogs. It sounds like the conditions were deplorable to begin with, 10 dogs kept in little cages all the time. BYB who only thought of these animals as a source of money.
So who is the "mystery person" that was supposed to be taking care of the dogs?


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

I wonder if and when those GSD's will go up for adoption.....


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

WarrantsWifey said:


> I wonder if and when those GSD's will go up for adoption.....


People have already been asking about adopting them. They were bugging a different shelter thinking that the dogs there were the ones in this case. I worry about the people who want to adopt these dogs simply because they were on the news.

Hopefully when they go up for adoption, the applications will be handled very carefully.


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## VaBeachFamily (Apr 12, 2005)

Did the person he "hired" build those basement dungeon prison cells?

How long was his wife in the hospital? and ummmm you mean to tell me that these MONTHS of this happening he never once returned to the home?

And... errr they were saying that one of the dogs was ... 30 pounds? that isn't a hospital stay buddy... that takes a LONG time to deteriorate a 9 yaer old GSD down to that... Don't stick up for the " well i would be in the hospital too" because you have to get your bills, get clothes, etc so he was home... that jerk... Too bad you can hang people anymore


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## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

Heartbreaking! I also agree that you would return home at some point! I love my hubby more than anything but I would also want to make sure my dogs were being taken care of. I guess that is just me.


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

That is sickening! Just sickening! What is more disgusting is he will probably just get a slap on the wrist. 

I really hope the people who are clamoring to adopt these dogs and don't get the chance to will consider adopting another deserving dog that is sitting on death row and is about to run out of time. I can appreciate that people want to help these dogs and think that is great. I just wish all the people that want to help these dogs would also be willing to help another great dog who doesn't have the media giving them lots of attention and won't have long to live without someone to help them. Not everyone who wants one of these gsds will get one but there are more than enough death row dogs to go around.


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

I also would like to say that my dad spent over 4 months in the ICU after his liver transplant on death's door. And everyday my mom returned home to take care of business and her dogs. She also made sure the dogs and cat were feed EVERYDAY before she left for the hospital. That whole "my loved one is in the hospital" excuse is bogus.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

Petition:


Petitions on Facebook


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Yes, when my mom was in getting surgery for a blockage, Dad would go from work, home to take care of Cujo, and then back up to the hospital, and then back to work. Cujo was a puppy and needed to go out midday. 

But sometimes the hospital is hours away and you have a hotel room. Then I would have to hire someone to take care of the dogs.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

which isn't the case here. He was working "long hours" at his restaurant in Hazleton and caring for his wife in Hazleton (doesn't say she was in a hospital). To me..it sounds like they actually live in Hazleton and just owned another property in Cresco where the dogs were kept. (which is only 1 hour away)


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

JMO - If the dogs are owned by a person, then regardless of who they hire, it is THEIR responsibility to make sure they are taken care of. Those dogs were living in dungeons. I'm really surprised, after the pictures have been posted for the world to see, that a breeder would defend this case.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Jax08 said:


> JMO - If the dogs are owned by a person, then regardless of who they hire, it is THEIR responsibility to make sure they are taken care of. Those dogs were living in dungeons. I'm really surprised, after the pictures have been posted for the world to see, that a breeder would defend this case.


If you are referring to me, I did not defend them at all. I said I could see why it might be hard to prosecute. A big difference. 

The laws for animal neglect and cruelty are really poor and the penalties are in many cases laughable. I am guessing a lot of prosecutors refuse to pay taxpayer money on them because of this. 

I talked to Senator Grendel during a meeting with our club about the new legislation proposed in Ohio, and said we have animal cruelty laws, we need to enforce them, or make the penalties greater. But he feels the answer is not to make everything a felony. Whatever. 

If the most a person will get is a 500$ fine, does it make sense to spend a ton of money with a judge and jury, judge, courtroom, etc.? And if there is event a trace of a plausible excuse, or some reason a jury might feel compelled to be compassionate toward the defendent, I do not know if they will or not. 

So, people, if you needed to take a four week trip across the country on business, and put your dog in a boarding kennel, and they just plain did not feed or clean up after the dog, should you or the boarding kennel be charged? I think that hiring someone to come to your home and take care of your dogs is similar to hiring a boarding kennel. But you still need to trust the person, and if you do this, the person who was hired to take care of the dogs should be charged. 

If you say John Smith, and cannot provide an address, phone number, etc for this person, you are still at fault. If you can, then you have to decide who is not lying. 

I really do not know how many of us have not left our dogs in someone else's care for a time period, like a week, that could cause them to become filthy, and possibly die if that person did not bother to care for them at all.


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## Sonia (Dec 2, 2010)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> Police investigating dog deaths in Paradise | PoconoRecord.com


OMG...WOW, I got Sonia from a breeder 4 blocks from this location... I can't believe someone would do this... 

I also notice a lot of people in this area is breeding GSD.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

selzer said:


> The guy hired someone to take care of his dogs because his wife was sick in the hospital and he needed to be there.
> 
> I can see how this could be hard to prosecute. Let's say I tell John Dough (good friend of the family) that my husband is sick in the hospital. And he tells, me just let me know if there is anything you need.
> 
> ...


Please look at the photos, read the e-mail (I also have one I can send to you) and stop making excuses for this POS - these dogs were in a medieval dungeon, bred over and over, never seeing the light of day. There were pressure wounds on their bodies from lying on a concrete floor. For at least a month they received no food or water. At least that's what I read. This wasn't something which happened overnight - it had been going on for who knows how long. Using his wife to try and explain away what was done to those dogs is even more reprehensible. I know what I'd do to him - unfortunately it isn't permitted by law.
______________________________________

Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

Peter Zervas will appear before Judge John Whitesell on March 30th @ 9:30 am to answer the charges against him. Judge Whitesell's office is located on Route 390 Mountainhome PA. I plan on writing him a letter asking for this individual to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Whatever that is - won't be enough, and won't bring back the 3 dogs which died, but it is better than nothing. If any forum members are interested in sending their thoughts to the judge (he doesn't have an e- mail addy) you can PM me for the address.
__________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Humane Officer Hired for Monroe County - WNEP


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Hopefully the new officer actually has POWER and can act when he sees issues and problems.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

Certainly a step in the right direction - thanks for posting the video Jax08.

I sent my letter to the Judge, asking him to impose the strongest penalty the law allows......
____________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge :angel:


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

GUILTY!!! $5000 in fines OR 30 days in jail. No contact with animals for 3 years.

Pretty light punishment in my opinion.

Man Guilty of Animal Cruelty - WNEP

Keep watch on the wnep website and the video will be on later.


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## will_and_jamie (Jul 8, 2006)

Jax08 said:


> GUILTY!!! $5000 in fines OR 30 days in jail. No contact with animals for 3 years.
> 
> Pretty light punishment in my opinion.
> 
> ...


That's all?


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