Over the objections of the Masury woman who lost a number of birds in an attack by two dogs on March 25 and April 18, a judge dismissed two counts of failure to confine the dogs filed against the dogs’ owner.
Melissa Schell-Geisler has dozens of chickens, ducks and geese that roam free on her 28-acre Doodle Lazy Acres farm in the 1100 block of Route 7 SE.
A Brookfield policeman said he killed one of the dogs owned by Tracey A. Culp, 38, of 1240 Collar Price Road, on April 18, and the second ran away.
On Sept. 5, the prosecution made a motion to dismiss the case if Culp would stipulate that police had probable cause to file the charges, and agree to pay costs, according to court records. Culp consented to the terms.
Schell-Geisler’s attorney objected to the motion, but Trumbull County Eastern District Court Judge Marty D. Nosich dismissed the case.
Culp’s insurance company paid full restitution for the animals, the court records states.
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Editor’s note: After this story was published online, Tracy Culp contacted NEWS On the Green seeking to tell her side of the story. This update was posted Oct. 29.
Culp said that on the second day that the dogs got out, she was home recovering from surgery and was in bed when her autistic son let the dogs out without their shock collars on.
“If I didn’t have surgery that week, it would never have happened,” she said. “It was a horrible accident that shouldn’t have happened.”
On the day of the first incident, her son also let the dogs out, she said.
She said the responding policeman the second day, Brookfield Lt. Pete Gibb, was “rude” and “ignorant” in his dealings with her.
“He was disrespectful to me,” she said, and “threatened to kill my other dog.”
Culp said she wants to meet with Police Chief Dan Faustino to talk about Gibb’s behavior.
Faustino said Oct. 29 that he has a meeting scheduled with Culp.
“This has been a nightmare from day one,” Culp said. “Thank God my charges got dismissed.”
