Kennel owner guilty of animal cruelty in case from mid-August Posted: November 27, 2013 By Melissa Boughton The Winchester Star WINCHESTER — Russell Ebersole was found guilty Tuesday of one count of animal cruelty after yanking a dog off the ground Aug. 18 and spinning it in circles until it urinated and defecated itself. Judge David S. Whitacre sentenced the Stephenson-based kennel owner to 12 months in jail (with 11 months suspended), two years of probation and a $2,500 fine (with $1,500 suspended). He also prohibited Ebersole from owning or possessing any companion animals for two years. The sentence, however, is not yet in effect because Ebersole and his attorney, Roger Inger, said they plan to appeal. Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Robbins tried to convince Whitacre to prohibit Ebersole from possessing companion animals pending the outcome of the appeal, but his motion was denied. Ebersole, who owns Aberdeen Acres — a grooming, training and boarding facility — declined Tuesday to comment about the case. Inger argued during the Frederick County General District Court trial that Ebersole’s handling of Maddie — a 60-pound Shar-Pei mix — was not abuse and considered an acceptable training practice for aggressive dogs. “We may not like these methods, they may be distasteful, but in the long run, they may be effective,” he said. “I don’t think it’s for us to judge.” Ebersole, who took the stand to testify, claimed that Maddie bit him while he was demonstrating a training activity. That’s when he said he pulled the dog up by her leash and led her in circles to calm her down. “I train a lot of aggressive dogs,” he said. “The one thing you have to do, you have to take the power of the back legs away from the dog.” He alleged that she was on her back legs during the incident. He also said that when she defecated and urinated herself, it was her way of telling him to stop, she wasn’t going to attack anymore. The owners of the dog — who live in West Virginia — testified that it did not bite Ebersole and that his account was inaccurate. They said when their dog didn’t listen to a command, Ebersole took her, pulled her up in the air and spun her around several times in a circular motion. In addition to defecating and urinating, the dog was bleeding from her face and fractured a tooth, her owners testified. At that point, one of the owners stepped in and took the dog back from Ebersole. He then told them that was how aggressive dogs were trained, and said that even noted dog whisperer Cesar Millan uses that method. “There is no acceptable training technique that requires a dog to bleed,” Robbins said after resting his case. “It may be accepted training to burn a child with a cigarette to stop him or her from smoking, but that doesn’t mean it’s proper, that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate.” When Ebersole testified that he used the technique on aggressive dogs and was in fear of his safety, Robbins showed the court a video of him swinging a different, allegedly non-violent dog by a leash with all legs suspended off the ground in an attempt to impeach Ebersole’s testimony. Whitacre, before finding Ebersole guilty, said he thought that video was very telling and said there was a credibility issue with Ebersole. A two-time convicted felon, Ebersole is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 6 in Frederick County Circuit Court on four other counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. In the meantime, he can still own, train and associate with dogs. He can also continue to operate his business. — Contact Melissa Boughton at mboughton@winchesterstar
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:07:53 +0000
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