EmailEmail
PrintPrint
Cat ranch owner charged with 574 counts of cruelty
Wednesday, April 09, 2008

The 218-page criminal complaint lists each cat by a letter and a number.

In all, Tiger Ranch animal sanctuary owner Linda Bruno was charged yesterday with 574 counts of animal cruelty stemming from a March 13 raid at her 27-acre Frazer property where investigators found hundreds of sick and dying animals, including, according to the complaint, some "so ill that the veterinarians had to euthanize them at the scene."

Ms. Bruno, 45, of Tarentum, pleaded not guilty yesterday at her arraignment before District Judge Suzanne R. Blaschak of West Deer.

Each of the 203 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty represents a cat "that was either dead on March 13, 2008, or has died since that date or has been euthanized due to an irreversible illness or condition," the court papers say.

Most of the 371 summary offenses also represent individual cats, except for four horses that prosecutors alleged are several hundred pounds underweight and a goat that investigators said did not have adequate shelter.

According to the complaint, each of the cats suffered from or died from one or more conditions including severe malnutrition and dehydration, respiratory or gastrointestinal infections from exposure to infectious conditions, and untreated abscesses, wounds, oral ulcerations, neurological diseases and circulatory system abnormalities.

The misdemeanor charges are punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, a sentence of up to five years in prison, or both. The summary offenses are punishable by a $50 to $750 fine, up to 90 days in prison, or both.

A preliminary hearing for Ms. Bruno, 45, was scheduled for 1 p.m. April 17.

Linda Wilson Fuoco can be reached at lfuoco@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3064.
First published on April 9, 2008 at 12:00 am
EmailEmail
PrintPrint