Judge Dan Gattermeyer set a trial date for 1 p.m. May 11. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail and a $180 fine.
Gattermeyer has also ordered Schmuck and Goodwin not to have animals or live with anyone with animals while their case is pending.
Butler County officials called the animal cruelty case one of the worst they had seen in their careers.
On Feb. 5, Butler County dog wardens responded to 3298 Reflection Pointe in Hamilton for a report of a deceased canine. The dog was discovered when a resident was taking out trash, according to Deputy Dog Warden Supervisor Kurt Merbs.
The dog had a collar and a tag with a phone number that led authorities to the owner, which was Schmuck, according to Merbs.
Schmuck admitted leaving the dog in the care of Goodwin while she was gone for a week. Goodwin told the deputy dog warden that he checked on the dog approximately three times but never let it out of the cage. The third visit to the Schmuck home is when Goodwin said he found the dog dead, according to Merbs.
Both Schmuck and Goodwin stated the dog didn’t eat for about three weeks.
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said Goodwin disposed of the dog “like common trash.”
Merbs called it “a senseless death” because the dog could have been donated to an animal shelter.
“This is heart-breaking, appalling,” Merbs said, adding it was “one of the more disturbing cases” he had seen in his nine years on the job.
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