The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Man charged in connection with starving dog found abandoned

Man drowns in Caesar Creek Lake
Updated 4 min. ago
CHCA students win Math Olympics awards
New 22 min. ago
Lakota to discuss open enrollment proposal
12:30 p.m.
Beach Waterpark sued for failure to deliver
12:25 p.m.
Road closing for railroad repairs
11:51 a.m.
> More headlines

By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer 2:58 PM Tuesday, January 3, 2012

HAMILTON — A Hamilton County man has been charged with animal cruelty in connection with a dog found starving and abandoned last month in a Fairfield park.

A tip led to the arrest of Edwin L. Saunders Friday on charges of: cruelty to companion animals, a first-degree misdemeanor; abandonment, a second-degree misdemeanor; failure to confine and no insurance for a vicious dog, both first-degree misdemeanors; and failure to licence a dog, a minor misdemeanor.

Saunders of Lockland admitted to owning and abandoning the emaciated dog found Dec. 19 in Joyce Park, according the Butler County Deputy Dog Warden Kurt Merbs. If convicted, penalties could carry as much as $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail. Saunders is scheduled to appear in Hamilton Municipal Court Jan. 24.

The young female pit bull has been undergone treatment at the Animal Care Center in Fairfield since she was found.

Merbs said the dog, named “Audrey” by her caretakers, has gained 10 to 15 pounds continues to make an “amazing recovery.” She has received an outpouring of support, with gifts and prayers from as far away as the United Kingdom.

“Her spirit and courage has inspired all of us,” said Meg Stephenson, executive director of the Animal Friends Humane Society.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lauren.pack@coxinc.com.

Share this article