Springfield woman sentenced to jail for abandoning dogs at rental property

A Springfield woman who pleaded guilty to abandoning her two dogs at a rental property after she moved out began serving her jail sentence on Thursday.

Heather Taylor, 24, pleaded guilty to cruelty to a companion animal and abandoning animals on May 27, according to online court records.

She was sentenced in Clark County Municipal Court on June 4 to five days in the Clark County Jail and was ordered to pay a $470 fine to the Clark County Dog Warden. As a result of her sentence, Taylor is also unable to own any companion animal until 2025, according to online court records.

On Thursday, Taylor reported to the jail for her sentence.

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Taylor was arrested on Nov. 16 after the Clark County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched on a report about two dogs abandoned and malnourished inside a home in the 300 block of East Leffel Lane in Springfield, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

When officers arrived at the home, they were greeted by the property owners who stated, “there were dogs in the garage and they were skinny,” the affidavit said.

“Once inside of the garage I saw both dogs more clearly and saw they both were very thin,” the investigating officer wrote in the affidavit. “I looked around and saw no food or water.”

The officers removed the two dogs, a small brown mixed dog and a black and white pit bull mix, from the home and turned them over to the Clark County Dog Shelter with permission from the property owners, the affidavit said.

The property owners told officers that Taylor and her father were the last residents to reside in the home, the affidavit said, but the two were evicted on Sept. 16.

“(The officer) was able to find Heather’s Facebook to see a few photos of the black and white pit whose name is Clutch,” the affidavit said.

Later that day, Taylor came into the Clark County Dog Shelter trying to redeem the black and white male pit bull mix, according to the affidavit.

Taylor also began asking questions about possible charges against her, the affidavit said.

“Heather claimed that she didn’t know who the second dog was but that brown female dog was very excited when they got into the room together,” the affidavit said. “(The officer) said that the brown dog hasn’t responded to anybody at the shelter like that.”

According to the affidavit, Taylor admitted to meeting the brown dog once in late September.

“Heather claimed she hadn’t been at the house on Leffel Lane for two months,” the affidavit said.

As of Friday morning, Taylor was listed as an inmate in the Clark County Jail.

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