BY MILLIE ROTHROCK | Staff
A grand jury will decide if an animal cruelty case that involves the death of a dog will head to Circuit Court.
The debate during Mondayâs preliminary hearing was whether the case against Harold Dunford of Austinville should be a misdemeanor or a felony. The key word in the charge against him was the word âmalicious,â which makes the charge a Class 6 felony, the least serious felony in Virginia. It is punishable by jail time of one to five years and/or a $2,500 fine.
Prosecutor Terri Bowles argued that by not seeking help for the obviously sick animal and lying to an animal control officer trying to help the dog, Dunford acted maliciously. Defense attorney Tom Jackson said the charge should be reduced to a misdemeanor, arguing that the dog suffered from kidney damage caused by Lyme disease, which caused it to stop eating, not because Dunford mistreated or withheld food and water from the dog.