Dog theft case leads to animal abuse charges for Parma pet owner

PARMA, Ohio — A dog theft case involving Blue the Australian Shepherd took a few turns before Parma police not only identified the thieves, but ended up charging the owner of the dog as well.

“On September 8, we responded to a residence on Grovewood Avenue, where the victim said she had returned home to find her dog was missing,” said Parma Patroller Brad Sala.

“She checked her cameras and saw two women coming out of the neighbor’s house and hanging out in her yard. One of them entered the fenced back yard, picked up the dog and jumped into a Dodge Caliber.

After talking to neighbors, who were uncooperative, Sala used automated license plate reading cameras to find the Dodge and eventually identify the driver.

However, the real dog thief was a little harder to find. After the police posted a photo on social media, information led to the identification of the woman.

“We eventually discovered the location of the dog, which was safe and handed over to the animal keeper,” Sala said.

The two suspects, Jessica B. Kaim and Kaylee N. Mack, have been charged with misdemeanor theft and criminal trespass.

However, the matter did not end there.

“That’s when the allegations of abuse started coming up, which we weren’t aware of during the investigation,” Sala said. “The family next door said, ‘How do you know the dog hasn’t been abused?’

“I said, ‘I don’t know yet. You have to tell me what’s going on. But they weren’t cooperative.

On Tuesday (September 27), the Parma Animal Guardian charged Blue’s owner, Jennifer Gaudreau, with misdemeanor animal abuse. Video footage shows the owner beating the dog.

Police had been called to the same address earlier this year regarding an animal complaint.

The situation forces police to remind residents not to take the law into their own hands.

“I think they were usually trying to do something out of the good of their hearts, trying to take care of this dog, but we can’t have vigilante justice,” Sala said.

“You have to call the police and take the right paths. And, ultimately, this owner was charged. So we have a job to do. You can’t do this alone. »

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