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WARREN -- A warrant was executed Tuesday by police for a Warren couple whose puppy was found with a broken leg lying in the hot sun without food or water over the weekend.
The couple, Brandon Greathouse, 29, and Jessica Mason, 30, appeared in Warren Municipal Court for an arraignment where they both entered not guilty pleas to charges of animal cruelty.
Their next hearing will be Aug. 8 in municipal court.
When police arrived at their home in 400 block of Vine Avenue in Warren on Saturday at the request of Jason Cooke, founder and president of the Healthy Hearts and Paws Project, who told police he was contacted by Trumbull County 911 to come to the residence after the puppy was found panting heavily and struggling to stand in the grass.
Cooke said he immediately contacted police. The landlord in the report said he attempted to contact the owner but got no response from her apartment.
It was noted in the report that the temperature that day reached 88 degrees with bright sun and little wind.
Police noted the puppy looked to be about 2 to 4 months old with its baby teeth still intact.
The report stated that a 3-gallon ice cream container was used as a water bowl but was out of reach of the barely-able-to-stand puppy; even if the puppy could stand, police noted the bowl was out of reach for the puppy.
The condition of the puppy described in the report said that its rear toes were curling inward. Had the dog not been tended to, police speculated the dog would have gotten sick or died.
It was noted in the report and in speaking to Cooke that Greathouse commented on Cooke's Facebook page the man attempted to defend himself. Greathouse said that he and Mason were taking care of the puppy but he is not the owner; Mason is.
The report states that Greathouse said in the Facebook post that the apartment complex did not allow for pets and that he and Mason were aware of the puppy's broken leg but left the dog outside anyway.
Speaking to Cooke, he said that Greathouse told him that they did not have money for the puppy to be taken to a veterinarian and by placing her outside they did what was best for her.
After seeing the dog's condition, Cooke took action to get the dog to MedVet Urgent Care in Girard where it was placed inside a splint, given pain medication and is on strict rest.
The puppy, renamed Emily, was confirmed by the vet to have a badly fractured femur and will undergo a procedure soon at Countryside Veterinary Service in Kinsman.
Cooke said the surgery will involve placing pins to hold the broken femur in place to stabilize the fracture.
Cooke said the owners should "never be allowed to have an animal."