Season One: State vs Steffen Baldwin / Episode 6: The Con Whisperer

We will be diving into the stories of Baldwin's victims. In this episode, we discuss:

• Chesty
• Romeo
• Belle
• PeeWee, and Coco

Some of these dogs survived him, others were not as lucky. We want to share their stories and that of the people who cared about them.

Throughout the next episodes, we will talk about the animal and human victims of Steffen Baldwin. These episodes include interviews, news stories, and courtroom testimony during Baldwin's trial.

These episodes cover sensitive topics such as animal abuse and domestic violence, so please take care of yourself as e recognize these victims for their sacrifices.

Det. Jim Conroy:

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Like there's just no reason to even lie.

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Just, you know, he doesn't have to lie

in this particular situation, but he

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would lie and I would be like, what?

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Why?

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Like, I just didn't understand.

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DrG: Hi, and welcome to the

Animal Welfare Junction.

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. This is your host, Dr.

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G.

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And our music is written and

produced by Mike Sullivan.

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This is Season one State

versus Stefan Baldwin.

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And this is episode

six, the Con Whisperer.

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Now, this episode is probably the

hardest, but to me the most important

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because we're going to go over all the

victims of his actions, both the animals

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and the humans, and the organizations

that he just conned to, to get his way.

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This episode,

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the, the next few episodes are gonna be

somewhat triggering because we are going

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to be discussing animal abuse, animal

cruelty, just the things that he did to

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these animals that did not observe the

fates that they, that they ended up with.

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And then also things

like domestic violence.

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And, you know, it's very important

to understand that the Link is

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real, the Link between interpersonal

violence and animal abuse.

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So we are going to be discussing

both the animals and the

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human victims of his actions.

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If you need to take a break, if it's

too triggering, take care of yourself.

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Just pause and come back.

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But in general, I feel that it is

really important to share these

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stories because these are the stories.

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These are the heroes, right?

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These animals, these victims,

these are the heroes that got

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him where he is imprisoned today.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: My name is Blake

Jordan and my wife and I founded the Miami

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Valley Pit Crew about, uh, 13 years ago.

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We basically take Pit Bulls, German

Shepherds, actually any breed,

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but those are our two specialties

out of kill shelters, um, and

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rehab them and find them homes.

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I'm a foster based organization and

we mainly take medical cases, like

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severe medical cases, burns, gunshot

wounds, stabs, heartworm cases.

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Those are, are, those are our specialties.

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So that's what we do a lot of.

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Okay.

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And we work with shelters all over

the eastern, half the United States.

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Dr. G:

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Let's start with Chesty's story.

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How did you come about

knowing about Chesty?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Well, um, my wife and

one of her friends with another rescue

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here, local, got an ask for help, um, to

help feed some Great Danes that were part

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of a criminal case here in Dayton, Ohio.

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Um, they went down to ARC or

the Animal Resource Center here,

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delivered a whole bunch of food

and donations for those dogs.

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And one of the kennel staff took

my wife back into the police

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hold area and showed them Chesty.

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From the story that I gathered,

, the Dayton Police went on a,

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I think it was domestic call.

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Um, and Chesty was basically sleeping

under a bush outside of these folks'

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front door or by the porch of some sort.

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Um, got startled when Dayton PD nudged

him to see if he was alive or not.

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Um, when he jumped up, um, the

police officer shot him in the

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back, barely missed his spine,

and shattered his shoulder blade.

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When he was taken to ARC, with

him being a police case, they

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don't give any medical care.

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That is how we were

approached to take him.

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That was September 28th, 2013.

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We took him once he was released to us,

straight to our vet, our vet did a couple

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of surgeries, released him back to us,

and we rehabbed him to the point where he

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was able to be placed in a foster home.

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I wanna say probably through

mid-October, uh, maybe end of October,

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um, just as his gunshot wound was

healing, um, all the bone fragments

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had been removed, all that fun stuff.

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Steffen had applied to Foster for us.

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Um, not knowing much about him at that

point, 'cause he was still just a kid

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living in a beat, beat down, rundown

house in, in Marysville at that point.

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Um, went to his home and do what we do.

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We did the home check.

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We did the background check.

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Um, everything seemed

kosher at that point.

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Um, probably a month after that, I

think it was the eighth, maybe the

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7th of November, uh, 2020 or 2013.

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Um, he asked if he could adopt him.

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Absolutely.

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Uh, we let him adopt and it

was all downhill from there.

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Dr. G:

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So he was completely healed up by the

time he was that you released him, right?

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Yeah.

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Because that's one of the things

is like Steffen makes it sound like

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: absolutely not

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Dr. G:

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helped with the rehabilitation

and he was part of everything.

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Almost like he just railroaded you

guys out of the story of Chesty.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: He absolutely did.

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And that was where he started that,

um, storyline after he adopted him.

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To help to get himself status.

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Um, and we argued and argued

and argued and pleaded for years

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for him to stop doing that, um,

because it wasn't the truth.

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Dr. G:

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How did him adopting Chesty affect Chesty?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Well.

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My biggest problem that I had, um, when

he started his bouncing around from

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shelter to shelter, um, in Northern Ohio

at this point, was he was using Chesty

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basically to do behavioral tests on

the dogs he was taking into his house.

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So he would take these, I won't

say vicious dogs, but dogs who have

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had bite records and behavioral

issues, and he would just dump them

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in the backyard with chesty and

shut the door to see what happened.

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That's, that's how he did his evals.

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He used Chesty basically as bait.

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Dr. G:

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It, it's kind of funny.

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As long as I

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worked with with Steffen,

I never met Chesty.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Really?

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Dr. G:

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Yeah, so I never actually got to meet him.

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I saw him on pictures, I saw him on

videos and that kind of stuff, but

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wonderful, as far as I know, I don't

know that I ever did meet him in person.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Beautiful dog.

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Beautiful inside and out.

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Um, just the, the amount of love

that Chesty had was just crazy.

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I can tell you that from day one.

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He was very manageable, even, even

with the gunshot wound, even with

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the agony of the post-surgery.

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He just wanted to be loved.

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That's, that was it.

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That was his thing.

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Dr. G:

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So how did, how did this whole thing

unfold as far as once he took him and

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he started taking notoriety with him?

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I know that you guys kind

of clashed about that.

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Absolutely.

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So how did that whole thing go on?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Um,

it was several of us.

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Um.

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That basically tried to call him

out, um, quite a bit saying, Hey, you

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know, that's not the story he's lying

about how he rehabilitated Chesty.

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Um, he had nothing to do with that.

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He basically housed Chesty for a month,

um, fed him and uh, then adopted him.

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And that was his involvement

with Chesty's rehabilitation.

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And we called him out on that a lot.

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And every time that he would make

a post on Facebook or try to do his

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YouTube thing that he was trying to get

up, um, we would always go on there.

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'cause e even, um, I, I forget, what

was the girl's name out of New York?

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Who was, uh, working for the newspaper?

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Uh,

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Dr. G:

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Katie Nelson, or, yep,

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: that's her.

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Um, he was attached to her pretty

heavy, and she was, she was putting a

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lot of misinformation out on his behalf

that I don't know if she knew about.

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Um, but every time she would post

an article or post a video, we

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would always basically interact

and say, Hey, that's not the story.

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That's not how that happened.

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We, we, as a rescue fundraised

for him, paid for the surgery.

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All Steffen did was feed the dog.

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Um, and every time we did that,

we'd get push back and threats.

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Dr. G:

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How, how bad did the threats get?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Um, the threats

got to a certain point, uh, I'd

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say about two years into it.

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Where, um, he sicked Gordon Shell on

myself, my organization, and my wife.

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Um.

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Physical threats, verbal threats,

basically telling us what huge pieces of

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shit we are and we're liars, and if we do,

if we keep it up, he would hunt us down

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and, and, and basically kick our asses.

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I, I openly invited him several

times to come to my home.

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He never showed.

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Dr. G:

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That doesn't surprise me.

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'cause I think that a

lot of it is just talk.

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Right.

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Just like the same way that

they pump themselves up about

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the, what they do for the dogs.

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Right.

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Right.

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No talk and no actual action.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Zero action.

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None.

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Um, they were, I can tell you

that the three of them, Luke

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included, were all about the press.

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Um, all about getting their pictures

out, all about building themselves up.

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And we can see where two of

those three are right now.

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KFox Investigates: It's

an update to a story.

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K Fox 14 investigates first uncovered

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El Paso Humane Society admitted to

charges of fraud and theft in Ohio.

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K.

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Fox 14 Investigative reporter Estefania

Seyffert takes us back to how this

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story unraveled and what happens next.

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The last time we spoke with Westerman, he

denied all allegations made against him.

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I haven't had any person ever

ask me anything or question

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my, my honor and my integrity.

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December 27th, 2018, Luke Westerman,

who was the executive director of

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the Humane Society of El Paso at

the time was indicted with charges

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of theft and securities violations.

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Accused of ripping off some Ohio citizens

of about $700,000 over eight years.

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A week later on January 7th,

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was booked into an Ohio jail.

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He was fired from the Humane

Society in El Paso The next day.

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The Humane Society announced a new

Chief Executive Officer, Deb Benedict.

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That same year in October, our

sister station WKEF in Dayton, Ohio,

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reported Westerman was indicted

in a second case, which included

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securities fraud, misrepresentation,

and theft from additional victims.

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Last week, Westerman pleaded guilty to

all 19 charges filed against him in Ohio.

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Prosecutors said he solicited at least

19 Ohioans to invest over $1 million

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into companies owned or controlled by

him, and used the money on personal

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expenses unrelated to the businesses.

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Dr. G:

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So did you guys try to get

chesty back at some point?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: We, we tried

a lot, um, through the years, um,

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through the police departments,

through, um, we actually had some

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lawyer contact back and forth.

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Um, and when everything started going

down with act falling apart and the

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Ohio, the charges here in Ohio starting

to build up against him, when he moved

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to California, we actually got the

authorities involved out there as well.

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Dr. G:

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You did not get him back until

he got arrested, is that correct?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Correct.

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Um, we worked, uh.

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Not closely, but we worked in tandem

with the detectives here in Ohio, um,

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who put us in contact with his girlfriend

that he was, had his rehabilitation

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ranch with out in, out in the desert out

in California, um, to get Chesty back.

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Um, when we were approached and finally

got some information out of the girlfriend

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and the police department, uh, we found

out that he had, uh, basically dogs

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living in shacks out in the desert.

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And Chesty was one of those dogs,

and I believe at that point he

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was probably 12 or 13 years old.

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Dr. G:

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And I know that, you know,

there's a, there's a jail call

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from him to his girlfriend.

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And when, you know, while he was

in jail and she's just telling her

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how chesty doesn't react to her

and doesn't care about her or, or

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whatever, like, it sounds like the,

there was just no relationship there.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: That's kind of what

I understand as well, and I can tell

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you, um, that the interaction that I was

told about from my volunteer who we flew

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out to California to pick up Chesty, um.

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From what I understand, he was very

happy to see her and he hadn't interacted

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with her at all up until that point.

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So I'm not sure what the relationship

was between Steffen, Steffen's girlfriend

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and Chesty, but I can tell you that when

the dog got back here, um, he remembered

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me from all those years and he was

very happy to see myself and my wife.

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Dr. G:

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And how was, how was that reunion?

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Because like it had been

how many years about

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: It had

been like, what I think eight

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years, nine years at that point.

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Dr. G:

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Eight years, yeah.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: So

it was, it was beautiful.

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Um, I was more intrigued by the

trip home and all the things that

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he got to see and experience.

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So that was, that was

the highlight for me.

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Um, he actually is currently living in

retirement with that volunteer and is

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just, couldn't be happier for him or her,

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Dr. G:

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He's just one of the lucky ones, right?

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Absolutely.

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'cause he actually made it alive.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Absolutely.

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Um, tho that is a, that's a hard

number to hit for, for any dogs in that

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came outta that situation with him.

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So the fact that he was able to

make it outta there alive, not get

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mauled with all of the bullshit that

he was put through is just amazing.

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Dr. G:

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People that I have been talking to

have been sharing how this, these.

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Experiences have changed the way that

they do rescue or they see rescue.

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How has he affected the way

that you guys do your thing?

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: We're a little more

diligent, but it's so far in the past now

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that whatever we did to adopt, to adapt

to it is just part of our daily now.

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So it's not really something that we,

we try not to dwell on too much anymore,

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but we, we definitely don't forget.

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Our, our biggest thing for the past

several years as this was going on,

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we, we stayed pretty low key about

it, but our biggest goal and biggest

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openness was getting Chesty back to us.

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And that was, I, that was our major

concern and that was the out outlook,

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the outcome that we wanted and

we're happy that, that it happened.

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So we were very fortunate.

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Dr. G:

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And I'm super excited that, that he

was able to, again, he, that he made

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it and that you guys got him back.

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Because it's amazing.

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He's, he's a good guy and

he deserves a good life.

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Blake Jordan, MVPC: Absolutely.

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And he's living it, so.

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DrG: Next is the story of Romeo, and

Romeo is a dog that he took in for

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both medical and behavioral issues,

and he just did not do right by him.

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Det. Jim Conroy:

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He had set Romeo up saying that he had

a cancer spread throughout his body and

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had to euthanize him when Romeo did not

have cancer spread throughout his body.

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He just had a simple tumor, uh, low

grade that wasn't going to spread, that

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all it needed to do was be removed.

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That was it.

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Uh, but he claimed he had it

throughout his whole body and

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had to euthanize, um, uh, Romeo.

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So that's, that's, you know, how it

would've in depth, you know, liar

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he was, is he, and he is smart too.

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I'll give him that.

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He's a very smart individual.

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Um, he would set these things, things

up months ahead of time, you know,

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so people who, you know, aren't

thinking like these things are the,

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they're not gonna figure that out.

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You know, he's been upfront with

him about this cancer for months.

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Melissa Chase: Would you state

your name for the record?

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Alex.

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Alex Armaly: Alex Armley.

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I took Romeo in from a coworker.

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I had him for a total about six months.

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And he lived with me as a dog of my own.

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He had a, well, I was

told a cyst on his leg.

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He had severe allergies

to the food he was on.

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He had never been to a vet before.

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He never had any shots, he lived

in a crate most of his life.

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He wasn't really let out much.

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I waited about two days after I got him.

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So I would say probably March 3rd, 2014,

and I took him to Rascal Animal Unit.

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I went there 'cause I knew he needed

shots and they would be cheaper there just

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to get started, his initial assessment.

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DrG: So Alex brought him in

to Rascal Animal Hospital.

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We did his vaccines, we did an

evaluation, and you know, a lot of

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people throw around the word cyst,

like every, every mass or tumor is a

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cyst and that's normally a misnomer.

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So the way to identify what was going

on was we did a fine needle aspirate

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in which we put a small needle into

the mass, took some cells, and then

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identified what the cells were about.

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And the results of that were

that it was a mast cell tumor.

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Now.

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The, the problems with a fine

needle aspirate is that it

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doesn't tell you what grade.

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It just tells you what cells are in there.

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However, it's a really good place

to start, especially by letting

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the owner know that it's not just

a cyst, it's not a benign process.

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It can potentially be a problem

that needs to be addressed.

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Alex Armaly: They took a sample of

his, the tumor on his leg to send,

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to get lab work done, to confirm it

was a cyst, like I was told, which it

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was not as well as an allergy test.

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He was severely allergic

to the food he was on.

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I would say maybe about a week and

a half after we went to Rascal,

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so maybe like mid-March 2014.

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Dr.

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Bader, She was the vet that myself and

all of my friends were very close with.

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We all took our pets to her, so I

took her, I took Romeo to her as well.

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Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

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I am Cheryl Bater and I'm a

doctor of veterinary medicine.

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I see small animals in general practice.

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DrG: One thing that I

have to say about Dr.

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Bater is she has been doing this for a

really long time and she is so thorough.

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She is an amazing veterinarian.

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And I am really happy that

that's where Romeo went.

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Uh, Alex already had a relationship

with her, so it makes sense that she

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would go there for follow-up care.

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But in the, in the end, in the trial,

it was very helpful because Dr.

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Bader was able to participate as, as

an expert witness, but also as somebody

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who had firsthand knowledge of Romeo.

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Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

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Romeo was a patient of mine, and, uh,

Alex Armley, his owner, brought him to

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me for examination for a mass that he

had on him, so he was a patient of mine.

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So he had, uh, a lump on his, uh, right

rear leg that she wanted me to evaluate.

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Apparently he had been, um, had this

and she wanted my opinion 'cause

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she knew me from her other dog.

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Alex Armaly: I believe a cell

mast tumor is what I was told.

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A low grade.

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Um, I believe x-rays were also done

on his chest to confirm it was not

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metastatic and it has not spread.

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Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

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A Mast cell tumor.

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Mast cells are normally in the body,

respond in the case of, they're

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part of the immune system response.

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So a, a tumor that arises from a

mast cell, um, has characteristics

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of that that are exaggerated.

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So a mast cell tumor arises

from abnormal mast cells.

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At the time I saw him, it

was, uh, pendulous, like

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it was on a pedicle almost.

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So it looked like it sort of was hanging,

it was about the size of a lemon perhaps.

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Um, I would say it was

five to five centimeters.

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So what I presented to Alex, which

I present to all my clients, is a,

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um, there's a spectrum that we can

offer whenever we have a tumor.

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And this was newly, he was newly

adopted, uh, at that time too, is

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kind of the good, better, best.

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So these are our options.

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And I said the first thing we wanna do,

all we had was a fine needle aspirate.

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And a fine needle aspirate gives

us an idea of, of what, what

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family of tumors it's in, but not

what the grade is of the tumor.

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So I offered her estimates for diagnostics

to assess him, uh, to see is there any

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evidence that it's spread anywhere and

what's his general health if we're gonna

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consider surgery to remove that tumor.

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He also needed to be neutered.

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She wanted to think about it, but she

came back, um, and decided that she wanted

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to do those diagnostics and came back.

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May 15th.

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May six.

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Yeah.

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She came back for, uh, to do

the diagnostics and that's

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where we did pre-anesthesia

diagnostics to look at his health.

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She elected to start with

that, to see where we were.

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'cause if we already had evidence

of metastasis from what was

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potentially a malignant tumor,

then she wasn't gonna proceed.

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But there was no evidence

of spread at all anywhere.

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So I thought he was a really, really

good candidate to, for it to be, uh, low

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grade or, and to be able to successfully

take it off and be done with it.

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Alex Armaly: He was four

years old when I got him.

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Um, extremely loving.

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You could tell he hadn't

really been loved much before.

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So when I gave him a little bit

of attention, it went a long way.

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Um, he got very attached to me

and very clingy, which I think is

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what resulted in him and my dog

not getting along down the road.

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DrG: In addition to having that mass,

Romeo also was not neutered, and that

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presented a problem because dogs that are

not neutered tend to be more aggressive,

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have more behavioral issues, and Alex

had another dog, and the two of them

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were having issues probably because of

Romeo's dominance and then her other dog

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had already established

that that was his home.

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So not only was the cost of surgery

a concern for her, but in the long

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term, having two dogs that were not

gonna get along with each other and

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could potentially hurt each other.

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Alex Armaly: I started asking

around if anyone knew of shelters or

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someone that could help me take him.

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Um, I posted on a couple animal pages,

um, and then I was directed to ACT Ohio.

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I was hoping to get him medical

treatment as well as someone

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to just give him a new home.

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Jennifer Kasouf: She had taken

him in from a friend who couldn't

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take care of him anymore.

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Um, there was some aggression

issues between Romeo and her dog.

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And Romeo had a large lump on his leg

that she wasn't able to really care

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for and was looking for rescue for him.

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I had asked Steffen if we could help

rehab the dog and try to figure out

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what was going on with his leg, and

he was just gonna take the dog in, try

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to rehab him and find him new home and

see what we could do about vet care.

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Alex Armaly: I told him about how

I got him, about the dogs fighting

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after that last month or so.

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Um, his health, me going to the vets

and getting information as to what

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was going on with his health and

just what I had hoped for for him.

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I couldn't afford having it

done at the time, and also the,

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the fighting between the two.

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He said he could get him the surgeries

he needed and help him with his

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aggression and other dog being around

other dogs and find him another home.

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I don't know who told me, but I believe

one of them told me that everything was

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essentially pro bono because of their

organization with Rascal and the vet.

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And they just took him and

they could do it for free.

434

DrG: It is really funny that he told

her that the service would be for free

435

because it goes along to imply that

he didn't really have any interest in

436

paying us back, just running up a bill

that he thought he could just write off.

437

Alex Armaly: I felt very

confident that he could help him.

438

He was very positive and

seemed excited to help him.

439

And hopeful.

440

Melissa Chase: Did you sign any kind

of transfer papers, any documents?

441

Alex Armaly: No, I did not.

442

I believe he was still my dog.

443

Um, he was just helping

find him another home.

444

Jennifer Kasouf: I think in the

beginning it was more of a concern

445

with the training and just making

sure that he could be placed.

446

Before it was a medical thing.

447

We were completely unaware it was cancer.

448

Alex Armaly: As far as I know, he took

him about two days later to have the

449

surgery done, um, which was successful,

neutering him and removing the tumor.

450

And then from then on, I, I

believed that he was cancer free

451

and he was healthy and good to go.

452

I was told that it was not a metastatic

tumor and that it would not spread and

453

if they removed it, he would be fine.

454

Melissa Chase: To the best of your

knowledge, where did Romeo's surgery take

455

Alex Armaly: place?

456

As far as I know it took place at Rascal.

457

Melissa Chase: And what's the message?

458

Alex Armaly: Tumor and testicles are gone.

459

That's the next day.

460

My baby?

461

I have tears again.

462

I'm so happy for him to finally

get the tumor taken care of.

463

I wish I could be there to comfort him.

464

Let me know about the additional

tumors they found and kiss him for me.

465

Thank you so much.

466

He looks great.

467

How is his leg healing?

468

You bet he's a champ.

469

Wasn't even limping the morning after.

470

He's at Rascal until Monday.

471

Awesome.

472

That makes me happy to hear.

473

DrG: Now remember he just told

Alex that we did the surgery

474

at Rascal Animal Hospital.

475

So keep that in mind.

476

Melissa Chase: Doctor.

477

Uh, good afternoon.

478

Would you state your name for the record?

479

Dr. Amy Welker:

480

Amy Lynn Welker.

481

Melissa Chase: And

doctor, are you employed?

482

Dr. Amy Welker:

483

Um, I'm no longer employed with Union

County Humane Society, but I was

484

just recently up till October 2023?

485

He was a pit bull type, male, blue

color, and five-ish years old.

486

I neutered him that day and removed a

tumor, actually two tumors as it turned

487

out, and, um, sent them for a biopsy.

488

I sent both, at least parts

of both in to be evaluated by

489

the pathologist at IDEXX lab.

490

They were Mast cell tumors, and

it had a mitotic index which

491

evaluated basically the prognosis.

492

I believe he went home as soon as

he was awake enough to go home.

493

DrG: So you got that, right?

494

So he tells Alex that we did

the surgery at Rascal Animal

495

Hospital, which is not true.

496

It is absolutely not true.

497

Dr.

498

Welker at the Union County

Humane Society did the surgery.

499

She removed the mass that

Alex was concerned about.

500

She found another mass.

501

She removed that and she neutered him.

502

And then what he did was after

surgery, he brought him over to Rascal

503

Animal Hospital for hospitalization,

but really more for boarding.

504

And he was there for about four to five

days, which was not really necessary.

505

Right.

506

Most animals, most patients

are released to their owner,

507

and the owner takes him home.

508

So at that time, I did not think about

why he needed to hospitalize or board him.

509

Now, hindsight is 2020.

510

He just wanted somewhere to just shove

that dog for several days until he

511

could figure out what to do with him,

especially since he was dog aggressive.

512

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

513

Grade one is like getting an A on a test.

514

Yay.

515

This is the, the best we

can have and the best idea.

516

Um, so if it's a, a low grade, uh,

many of the oncologists now will say,

517

no, no additional treatment needed.

518

Just observe it and if it comes back,

or you can go back and take a wider

519

margin if you want a little extra.

520

But for most dogs, if it's a low

grade, no additional therapies needed.

521

So, uh, the clinical assessment at the

bottom, the pathologist, uh, stated that

522

based on what the pathologist said, it

was expected to have a very, very low

523

risk, um, of shortening his life at all,

uh, in a very low risk of metastasis or

524

spread to otherwise parts of his body.

525

Um, and once you have that grade.

526

And the behavior, and then knowing what

I knew about seeing Romeo then is highly

527

improbable that, that that low grade

tumor would have become aggressive.

528

They don't become grade threes.

529

A grade one isn't going

to become a grade three.

530

Um.

531

So it was highly improbable that there

was dissemination of that tumor in his

532

body that would cause him to be premature

to prematurely die for any reason.

533

Alex Armaly: I think he checked

in with me here and there to send

534

updates, but overall, it was about

two weeks later when I got notified

535

that he had been put to sleep.

536

Jennifer Kasouf: I was home.

537

Um, right afterwards that Romeo

had cancer and was put down.

538

I was confused how a dog could be put

down from cancer that quickly because,

539

in my experience, pathology and

biopsies take a long time to come back.

540

They're just, they're

not done within 24 hours.

541

Are you aware, Jennifer, how Alex

Armley found out about Romeo?

542

Uh, I sent her a text message

or a Facebook message.

543

Not word for word, but I had just

explained her that, um, Romeo had

544

to be euthanized due to cancer.

545

Alex Armaly: They took him for a

follow up and there had been cancer

546

that spread through his whole body,

so aggressively radiation and nothing

547

else would help, so they put him down

before he felt any pain and suffered.

548

I was at lunch for my birthday with

the guy I was dating at the time.

549

I was hysterical and

we had to leave lunch.

550

Melissa Chase: Would you read into

the record what you wrote about Romeo?

551

Alex Armaly: Today sucks.

552

I'll love you forever.

553

Romeo, rest peacefully sweet boy.

554

So this is where we part my friend,

and you'll run on around the bend,

555

gone from sight, not from mind.

556

New pleasures there.

557

You'll surely find.

558

Your place I hold, but you'll be missed.

559

The first stroke to the nose I kissed.

560

And as you journey to your final rest,

take with you this, I love you best.

561

DrG: So he picks up Romeo

from us on August 12th.

562

The dog is doing fine, right?

563

It has had his medications,

pain, pain control and all of

564

that stuff, and he takes him.

565

We didn't do the surgery.

566

We did not send the biopsy, so

we didn't have that information.

567

So then fast forward to the

28th, he sends a text saying

568

that Romeo's information came back and

that the tumor has spread and that it's

569

really malignant and really aggressive,

and that, you know, dog's gonna suffer.

570

And with him being dog aggressive,

it's not fair to keep him in a crate.

571

And basically saying that, you

know, quality of life is poor

572

and he needs to euthanize him.

573

However, this was all a lie because

he never received anything from

574

any veterinarian saying that the

cancer had spread, that he had

575

metastasis, and actually the.

576

The pathology on the mass came back

as a grade one mast cell tumor,

577

which is the lowest grade, and they

usually have an excellent prognosis.

578

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

579

There, there was no documentation of any

veterinarian that said, Hey, this, this

580

dog looks like we have a spread of cancer.

581

Uh, there was no veterinary assessment

that said, um, somebody, there

582

must be another cancer somewhere.

583

Somebody threw us a zinger.

584

There was nothing that indicated

that a veterinarian assessed him

585

to have metastatic cancer anywhere.

586

Melissa Chase: So what was your

conclusion with respect to the

587

euthanization decision of Romeo?

588

Dr. Cheryl Bater, DVM:

589

I think it was tragic.

590

It was, it was, it was tragic.

591

It was sad.

592

It was heartbreaking.

593

Literally when I read it, I was

like, it tightened my chest.

594

I'm like, it was a grade one tumor.

595

It, it was unnecessary

and tragic, in my opinion.

596

DrG: This case is one that is really

upsetting because whenever a pet

597

owner brings you their, their dog

or cat or rabbit or what may be,

598

and tells you, you know, this is the

medical history, this is the story.

599

This is what has happened, and

this is my pet's quality of life.

600

That's sometimes that's all the

information that you have and you

601

have to make a decision based on that.

602

And at that point we had just.

603

Started working with him.

604

So he comes in and spins this

story about how the dog had cancer.

605

We knew that it was a mast cell

tumor, so that part made sense.

606

But he spins how the dog had this

horrible cancer and it has metastasized,

607

and the dog has a poor quality of life.

608

So the best thing for the dog at that

point would've been euthanasia if that

609

was true, but unfortunately it wasn't.

610

And like Dr.

611

Bader said, it was just

unnecessary and it was tragic.

612

One of the dogs that he had for a long

time and he made a ton of publicity

613

out of, was Belle Belle the Bait Dog.

614

And it's, it's amazing how he

turned he, her story and he

615

took advantage of her issues.

616

To then create publicity and fundraise

and even make a book about the hotdog man.

617

Ed Jameson: My name's Ed Jameson.

618

Um, at the time I was the Chief

Animal Control Officer for the city of

619

Cleveland, Ohio's Animal Care and Control.

620

DrG: How you came to

get possession of Belle?

621

Like what was her backstory?

622

Ed Jameson: It was an

injured, injured stray call.

623

Um, and the dog had major, major

medical, um, particularly in the face.

624

It definitely had been in some type

of a, of a fight and had got the, not

625

the good end of the, of the fight.

626

And so we rushed the dog to emergency vet

care, which, um, we were able to get that.

627

And then we had very little isolation

areas in that, in that old kennel in

628

Cleveland, which is no longer in use.

629

But, um, she was in that room, the

one room we were able to isolate

630

and just had all kinds of stents

and stitches and things like that.

631

Um, and was really sweet to humans.

632

Need to say in that situation, it

was a very noisy, chaotic shelter.

633

It appeared to us that she had animal

aggression, but we also couldn't do

634

any real, she couldn't do playgroups

'cause of her medical condition,

635

but any dog walked by the cage and

she, she totally lost her mind.

636

So, um, reached out to Mr.

637

Baldwin.

638

Um, 'cause 'cause other than that,

she was a, she was a great dog.

639

Steffen Baldwin: So we got the call

from the Cleveland Animal Control.

640

Um, they, we were the only group that

they trusted to take this dog because

641

of her dog issues, because of her

fear and what she had gone through.

642

DrG: Is there any truth to that?

643

Ed Jameson: I didn't know him to

know how much I could or couldn't.

644

I knew that he at least had, um,

said that, you know, and had some

645

success, especially with bully breeds.

646

Um, being able to, to get them

in, you know, there, there's.

647

I didn't know him well enough to say

that he was the only person there.

648

There's very few people that

actually can responsibly take, you

649

know, animals in that condition to

begin with, but he was one who had

650

shown some type some success, so.

651

Steffen Baldwin: Bell

came to us from Cleveland.

652

I got a call from the dog warden up

in Cleveland, the chief dog warden.

653

And, uh, they had found her, uh, through

part of an investigation where they're

654

looking at dog fighting organizations.

655

And, uh, she is what you

typically know as a bait dog.

656

DrG: So did any of your staff say

that they instructed Stefan that

657

Bell had been from a dog fighting

case or an investigation or anything

658

that would've left him to start

doing all that advertising for her?

659

Ed Jameson: No, maybe, maybe

that, Hey, we are looking into it.

660

She, again, it was obvious she got her

butt kicked by a most likely dog, um,

661

in the city of Cleveland, but there was

zero evidence of anything organized,

662

like literally zero evidence of that.

663

So we, we never talked like that

internally without there actually

664

being some type of facts to back it up.

665

Is it a true statement to say that

Bell probably was in a dog fight?

666

True.

667

Is it true to say there's any evidence

that it was an organized dog fight

668

and anything different than just

two loose dogs in the streets of

669

Cleveland tussling with each other?

670

Nothing.

671

Nothing more than that.

672

And they said you, you knew Bell,

she was spicy around other animals.

673

There was no question about that.

674

The sweetest thing with humans.

675

DrG: My experience with Belle was, uh, as

you say, she was super sweet with people,

676

but she would see another dog and she

would just go crazy, and she was so small

677

that she picked fights that she could

not, you know, hold, hold her into, I, I

678

compare her to a chihuahua right there.

679

Yeah.

680

Like the angry chihuahua

that sees another dog.

681

And it doesn't matter how big the dog is,

it wants to go after it, but it's gonna

682

lose because it's just not big enough.

683

Ed Jameson: That was very inappropriate

and that that was something, I

684

mean I saw that, um, I, if I'm

not mistaken, I think I was out on

685

the road when he actually came in.

686

So my team actually released the dog

to him and before I even made it back

687

to the kennel, I saw some notification

pop up on my phone and he was like,

688

Facebook liveing it only a couple

minutes out of being outta the shelter.

689

I remember thinking, and this

is great for this dog, but yeah,

690

if there is actually anybody.

691

That, that there is something

nefarious going on and they see

692

this, it just drives 'em underground.

693

You, you literally will lose the

case, right, right then and there.

694

Um, again, that anybody knows

anything about investigations, forget

695

about even sensationalizing of it.

696

Hey, I understand how fundraising works.

697

There'll be a time and a place you

could fundraise not six or seven minutes

698

after leaving the shelter, when I told

you that we're, we are looking into it.

699

So had there been a case that would've

absolutely harmed, um, harmed the case.

700

Steffen Baldwin: And, uh, she is what

you typically know as a bait dog.

701

She was bred smaller and used specifically

for fighting dogs to practice on.

702

Her teeth have been filed down straight

across, so she can't fight back.

703

Ed Jameson: Yeah.

704

And that's, um, there's a lot of people

who say that that is very catchy.

705

And so we will see well-intended

advocates who don't really know, oh,

706

this dog's gonna be used as a bait dog.

707

Mul, multiple things.

708

Um, dogs, the one that have microchips

are not eye candidates for that.

709

In my experience, they are, um,

they're actually dogs who don't

710

have any chance of winning at all.

711

And so even so, pit bull, bully types

are not even, um, necessarily that thing.

712

They, they, they want dogs.

713

They have dogs that are for sure gonna

lose for, so they're fighting dogs.

714

One don't get injured in it.

715

Um, and it just sounds so

sensational when people say that,

716

yes, this dog was used as bait.

717

DrG: Yeah.

718

In my experience, usually when we

see bait animals, it's going to be

719

like really small dogs, or it's gonna

be cats, or it's gonna be wildlife.

720

And they're used really more

to drive that prey sense.

721

Right.

722

Instead of actually fighting.

723

Because one of the things that Jeanette

mentioned was the fact that, you know,

724

like Belle, yeah, she's smaller, but

she can still cause injury and you don't

725

want a high price pit bull to get injured

during, during a training session.

726

Ed Jameson: Exactly.

727

E Exactly.

728

So yeah, that's, I hear that

all the time with people saying

729

that from animals leaving the

shelter, particularly bully types.

730

And it's just like, yeah, that's not

your, and most shelters are able to have

731

animals fixed now before they leave too.

732

So again, they're not, they're not

trying to take altered animals.

733

Yeah.

734

Bell was not what I would've said.

735

If, if, you know, if there was an

organized thing that would be a of a bait

736

dog that this, that this doesn't add up.

737

Steffen Baldwin: I mean, you

can't really tell from now.

738

I mean, you can see the scars of

course, but her jaw was falling apart.

739

They had to do reconstructive

surgery to put it back together.

740

She was emaciated.

741

She was.

742

You know, she was basically

left for dead almost.

743

So,

744

Robyn Haines: and that's kind of

where your relationships come in.

745

I know you work with Rascal Animal

Hospital, obviously, and other

746

groups that kind of help you

when you have a case like this.

747

Steffen Baldwin: Correct?

748

Yes.

749

So we got the call from the

Cleveland Animal Control.

750

Um, they, we were the only group that

they trusted to take this dog because

751

of her dog issues, because of her

fear and what she had gone through.

752

So we picked her up, we drove her down

to Rascal Animal Hospital here in Dublin.

753

Uh, and Dr.

754

G took great care of her physically.

755

So, and that's our partnership with

Rascal, that they heal the, the, the

756

body and we heal the mind basically.

757

And then we have a whole dog.

758

DrG: How far was she into her healing

process when you released her to

759

Stefan because when I saw her,

she was, she looked really good.

760

Like the, the treatments

that she had received and the

761

drains and all of that stuff.

762

She was looking really, really good.

763

But he makes it sound like, you know, he

took her while she was still all ripped

764

up and that we did a lot of the repair.

765

When in reality all I did was the recheck.

766

Ed Jameson: If I'm not mistaken, she had

been with us for a couple weeks between

767

she, when she went to the emergency

vet care and then ultimately came back.

768

And that's why we knew, trying to

look, man, this is gonna be hard to

769

find anybody who'll take this dog one.

770

Um, yes, it has all this medical

that is healing up, but then

771

two, obviously, um, the, the, the

dog aggression component of it.

772

But I am, I think we had her for a

couple weeks and we were really, really

773

happy with the work that was as wet

Park, west Park Animal Hospital was.

774

So we had the contract with, at least

when I was the chief there, and they,

775

they had put all of those drains

and stitches and things like that.

776

And so she was on her way to heal

medically, um, when she left.

777

'cause I remember telling him

that, I said, I'm not a vet.

778

But other than some rechecks, hopefully

everything, unless something gets

779

infected, hopefully the medical

component, that wasn't the main

780

reason I was reaching out for rescue.

781

I was reaching out because

of the behavior component.

782

DrG: I remember, uh, and I have a picture,

examining her when he first got her.

783

And actually there is also a

picture of him driving with

784

her after he picked her up.

785

And in that picture, I mean, it's

like completely different dog

786

compared to the pictures with all

the drains and all the injuries.

787

So, you know, a little bit also,

788

he was trying to fundraise based on, she's

a bait dog and everything else, but also

789

trying to lead people to believe that he

needed to fundraise for her medical care,

790

which you guys had already taken care of.

791

Ed Jameson: I, I just think it's tough.

792

Um, animal welfare.

793

It, it goes through its different

iterations and we're in a

794

really tough time right now.

795

Um, the, the painting sad stories,

I totally understand that, that

796

that can generate donations.

797

It doesn't necessarily do the best for

our cause, especially shelter animals

798

that the general public who doesn't

live lives like we do and think about

799

animals all day long, it makes 'em think

that all of our animals are broken.

800

Um, and I, I, I am fortunate enough

to be the CEO of an organization

801

called Operation Kindness.

802

Now we stay positive, we do

forensics work for the city of

803

Dallas, um, and, and other, um, um,

entities throughout North Texas.

804

And we still try to remain positive

as opposed to going to the negative.

805

Um, yes, you can generate some dollars

on that, but the long term, if we're

806

really trying to get the public to be

more involved, most people don't want

807

to be involved with something sad.

808

They would much rather be involved with

something that's got positive to it.

809

It's still, I remember thinking, why

are we painting a story that we just

810

don't know what's true as opposed to,

Hey, I'm trying to help this dog that

811

obviously went through something rough.

812

Has shown a bunch of good

qualities around human beings.

813

Like I, I thought that that dog could

have been marketed that way as opposed

814

to getting, I mean, they could think you

named the bell the bait dog before it

815

was outside the city of Cleveland Limits.

816

And that, that was disappointing to me.

817

DrG: Over time we realized that Belle

was a really sweet dog with people,

818

but Belle was an asshole with other

dogs, and she would see other dogs and

819

she would go, like, she would lose her

voice because she was growling and, and

820

barking so hard at these other dogs.

821

So Bell is one of those dogs that he

had that had multiple fights in his

822

house, I believe, uh, that at one point

even a neighbor hit her in the head

823

with a shovel because she got out and

she was, she was being aggressive.

824

So, I mean, the Belle to me is one of

the biggest examples of how he took a

825

narrative and took this poor dog and

used her to, to make fame and make money.

826

Det. Jim Conroy:

827

Yes, you are correct.

828

Um, all of that you have pretty good

understanding of, uh, bell was the,

829

the Face of Act Ohio and what he,

he used as the Face of Act Ohio.

830

And this, this bell story was

part of the all-encompassing

831

telecommunications charge.

832

You know, we did.

833

You know, a telecom communications

charge for each of the dead dogs

834

that he had posted as adopted.

835

Then we did the all one encompassing

charge for all these other stories,

836

you know, uh, about other dogs

that didn't necessarily die, um,

837

but we're fraudulent stories.

838

The Bell story is a complete fraud.

839

It's all a lie.

840

And it started from the very beginning.

841

He, he made Act Ohio based on

Belle the bait dog, and as you

842

said, wrote a book, which you

wrote a very glowing comment about,

843

DrG: allegedly

844

Det. Jim Conroy:

845

in

846

Amazon.

847

No, you did.

848

It was Dr.

849

G and you were, had a glowing

review of it, which we know you

850

didn't do, but he he did it.

851

Yep.

852

Um,

853

Det. Jim Conroy:

854

he wrote the review for you, but, um,

it was all a lie it's, you're right.

855

She was not a bait dog, never was.

856

We know the whole story.

857

But he created this whole, he wrote

a book about her Belle, the Bait

858

dog, you know, um, it was all a lie.

859

There was nothing true to it.

860

And then Belle was the number

one fighter in that house.

861

She, I documented 13 different

fights that she started.

862

She attacked other dogs.

863

You mentioned the shovel one where,

where she escaped the house, went

864

over and attacked the neighbor's dog.

865

The neighbor hit her in the head and,

and split her head open with the shovel.

866

Um, and she was rushed to the hospital.

867

Baldwin happened to be

getting Amanda Walton.

868

That was when he was moving.

869

So he wasn't home.

870

He was getting, picking

her up with the U-Haul.

871

That Act Ohio paid for this whole entire

trip to move her back to Act Ohio, to live

872

with him, to be on his TV show and Bell.

873

That's when Bell got loose

and, and, and was hospitalized.

874

Belle was the number one fighter.

875

I documented 13 fights Belle was in and

she started all of 'em, or most of them.

876

DrG: Peewee came from a

hoarding case in Union County.

877

And he had called us and said that he

had this warrant and he was going to

878

go in and they were taking all these

animals out of this hoarding facility

879

or this house that was a hoarding place.

880

And Peewee was one of the many

dogs that came from there.

881

And I actually have pictures of

my staff with Peewee, and he came

882

in that they were cleaning him up

because all of these dogs were a mess.

883

Like they were matted, they

were covered in like caked

884

in urine and feces and stuff.

885

Um, but realistically, Peewee was old.

886

Uh, he was a senior guy, but nothing

really significant with him But then he

887

sends him out to foster, and Peewee ended

up being victim of Steffen's shenanigans.

888

Det. Jim Conroy:

889

In, uh, January of two 15, I think it

was the 25th of January, uh, Peewee

890

was part of a, a hoarding case.

891

So many animals, like maybe a

dozen or so that, that were removed

892

from a house, uh, by Baldwin.

893

Stephanie Van Brimmer: We received a, um,

894

a tip or a call, um, basically saying

that there was an injured beagle, that

895

the owner was refusing medical treatment.

896

When we first went out there,

Steffen and I went on that call

897

together, um, and we met with Mr.

898

Martin and, um, he

brought out one dog to us.

899

But it was not the dog that fit the

description that we were looking for.

900

Uh, he refused to let us inside the house.

901

He, he did walk us out back to

where two dogs were chained up,

902

and then we, we knew right then

that, um, he wasn't being truthful.

903

So we just documented what we saw and what

we heard that day, and then we went back.

904

I took the information that I gathered

from that, um, when we were there

905

and I went back to the person that

originally filed the complaint and

906

showed her pictures of the dogs

that we witnessed that day and

907

confirmed if that was the, one of

the dogs that she was talking about.

908

And she said no.

909

And so then we, um, moved forward

with obtaining a search warrant.

910

Steffen and I with the sheriff,

um, went back to the house

911

and, um, when we went in,

912

Melissa Chase: do you

need, do you need a minute?

913

Stephanie Van Brimmer: There were dogs.

914

There was one dog chained to

a bed in horrible conditions.

915

Um, flea infested, covered in urine.

916

Probably three inch nails, um, chained

to a hospital bed covered in feces.

917

Um, across the room, in the same room

across was a dog chained to a wall.

918

In the kitchen, there was a made

shift crate or fence that you would

919

see outside with straw and a dog

laying there covered in feces, matted.

920

There were 24.

921

Melissa Chase: Who were the two

dogs that were chained outside?

922

Stephanie Van Brimmer:

Um, Peewee was one of 'em.

923

And King was the other.

924

I don't remember the complete

conversation with Rick.

925

Um, but the Martin case was a little

bit different because, um, they, they,

926

they did something, uh, it's called,

um, owner surrender in lieu of charges.

927

Mm-hmm.

928

Um, and that was, um, an agreement

that Steffen had, so when we removed

929

all of the animals to Rascal, Steffen

stayed back and Steffen talked with Mr.

930

Martin.

931

He built, um, um, more of an

understanding of the, the bigger

932

picture and the more of the situation.

933

And later there was a later conversation

between me and Steffen and Steffen

934

what Steffen's recommendation

where he thought would be most

935

impactful for this situation.

936

And he, um.

937

Um, proposed the, um, owner

surrender in lieu of charges,

938

um, instead of moving forward.

939

We transported all of the

animals to animal, um, Rascal

940

Animal Hospital in Dublin.

941

Pee Wee was a senior dog that

was, um, chained up outside

942

with no access to food or water.

943

His body condition, I would

say was probably fair.

944

Um, he was matted.

945

Um, and a,

946

he had some, um, health conditions

that were being treated at Rascal.

947

DrG: So at one point when Stephanie

is at Rascal Animal Hospital, bringing

948

in the dogs, taking care of the dogs,

she realizes that the people that

949

got the dogs taken away from them,

they were outside and they have been

950

threatening her, I believe, online,

but she thought that they were outside.

951

So I texted Steffen and I said, Hey,

um, Stephanie thinks that they're

952

here and she's afraid to go outside.

953

And he just blows it

off, like literal words.

954

It's like, tell her to put on her

big boy pants and just deal with it.

955

And that's how, that's

not how that works, right?

956

You have to protect your

staff and your people, right?

957

Like you don't know how these

people are going to react.

958

You just took their animals

like they could be volatile,

959

so completely inappropriate.

960

Det. Jim Conroy:

961

I know that Peewee came to,

uh, Rascal Animal Hospital.

962

He had, I think a heart

murmur or something like that.

963

He was deemed to be eight years old.

964

Um, and within a week he went to a, a

woman, uh, a foster named Theresa Balsiger

965

Theresa Balsiger: I'm Theresa

Balsiger and I was PeeWee's Foster.

966

And we got Peewee because, um, the humane

agent, Stephanie VanBrimmer, who worked

967

with Steffen, advertised on their Facebook

page that they needed, um, fosters for

968

these, this humane case in Marysville.

969

So we got in touch with Stephanie

and decided to foster Peewee.

970

So we just went down to Rascal and they

brought him out to us and we brought him

971

back here and that's how it all started.

972

DrG: So what was your, what was your

impression of Peewee when you got him?

973

Theresa Balsiger: He was, uh, a goof.

974

Like he just had that face

that you just wanted to pet.

975

You know, he just, he

seemed very sad, but he,

976

he was interested in things.

977

So when we like brought him home, we had

a chihuahua, Phyllis and Phyllis fell

978

in love with Peewee, and I don't know

if it was because of the hair, but he

979

would, if he was outside laying, then

she would get up and like kind of knit

980

his back like a cat does, and then curl

around and then lay there with Peewee.

981

So they hung out a lot.

982

Peewee and Phyllis were buddies.

983

So usually wherever he was, she

would follow him and they fo they

984

would go all around the yard.

985

But to me he just seemed like he was

a senior dog, but on the young side

986

of senior who was still interested in

learning about life, if that makes sense.

987

He just didn't have, sometimes he showed

little puppy characteristics when he

988

would gallop around the yard and we're

like, oh, he's finally feeling like

989

he can run, you know, or do something.

990

Um, so yeah, we, we kind of,

we, we said we'd keep him for

991

as long as he needed to be kept.

992

'cause I didn't think he

would ever get adopted.

993

DrG: And how long did you have him?

994

Theresa Balsiger: We had him, I

wanna say close to five months.

995

Det. Jim Conroy:

996

Uh, so on February 1st, he was with her.

997

And, uh, and had been with her, uh,

and he was like a really sweet dog.

998

He wasn't, wasn't a Pit Bull

or it was just not a typical

999

dog that Baldwin dealt with.

00:55:22,958 --> 00:55:27,278

It was just this very sweet, gentle,

I'm not sure what type of dog it was,

00:55:27,368 --> 00:55:31,238

but so it did really well at her house.

00:55:31,598 --> 00:55:35,618

And, um, she said it was like coming

back to life and, and the light was back

00:55:35,618 --> 00:55:37,268

in his eyes and he was enjoying life.

00:55:37,328 --> 00:55:41,558

And, and in, uh, may they

took him, well, first she took

00:55:41,558 --> 00:55:43,658

him to her own vet in April.

00:55:44,198 --> 00:55:48,668

Uh, and then in May, her, it was her

son or her daughter at Ohio State had

00:55:48,668 --> 00:55:53,438

some sort of, uh, uh, a thing with

animals like out in the corridor,

00:55:53,498 --> 00:55:54,938

one of the main parts of campus.

00:55:55,628 --> 00:56:00,158

And, um, you know, peewee, they,

they, you know, Theresa said that

00:56:00,158 --> 00:56:01,688

he was in the height of his glory.

00:56:01,688 --> 00:56:05,738

He was so happy and, and loving

life and, and he just was a

00:56:05,798 --> 00:56:07,748

completely changed and different dog.

00:56:08,348 --> 00:56:16,358

And then, uh, a month later in, uh, June,

um, Baldwin has another dog named Coco.

00:56:16,478 --> 00:56:22,388

And, uh, Balsiger's would have to go out

of town and they have a, a bigger dog.

00:56:22,748 --> 00:56:26,708

So they asked Baldwin to watch this

bigger dog as they went out of town.

00:56:26,823 --> 00:56:28,718

And, and he agreed to.

00:56:29,088 --> 00:56:36,408

Theresa Balsiger: Coco came from Franklin

County Animal Shelter and we've had Coco,

00:56:36,408 --> 00:56:43,368

I think since 20, well, at Peewee went in

00:56:43,368 --> 00:56:48,978

So we've had him 10 years and he, and.

00:56:50,628 --> 00:56:55,608

It, it, I, I really, every time I think

about it, I go, I could just throw up

00:56:55,608 --> 00:56:58,368

because of, of what happened with Remy.

00:56:58,368 --> 00:57:03,948

But we had went on vacation and we're

gone for two weeks and we have a dog,

00:57:04,938 --> 00:57:11,488

Kozar We took him everywhere and he was,

part Newfoundland and part Rottweiler.

00:57:11,748 --> 00:57:17,148

He developed this fear type aggression,

so we, I couldn't have a regular pet

00:57:17,148 --> 00:57:22,128

sitter come for fear that they would

get bit, so I had asked Steffen to

00:57:22,128 --> 00:57:26,073

watch Kozar, and he did for two weeks.

00:57:26,073 --> 00:57:30,603

He watched Kozar and I'm think, man, I'm

so glad nothing happened to that dog.

00:57:30,883 --> 00:57:30,884

Det. Jim Conroy:

00:57:30,884 --> 00:57:35,023

So when they came back, Baldwin

says, Hey, you know, uh, you

00:57:35,023 --> 00:57:36,883

know, your dog and our dog, Coco.

00:57:37,258 --> 00:57:40,168

Well, the dog he was talking about,

uh, you know, hit it off and they're,

00:57:40,198 --> 00:57:43,318

they're wonderful, they're great, and

he'd be great to foster at your house.

00:57:43,348 --> 00:57:47,038

You know, Coco, well, Coco

was a, a another problem dog.

00:57:47,668 --> 00:57:53,128

And, um, this was just him getting rid

of a problem dog for whatever reason.

00:57:53,708 --> 00:57:55,928

Theresa Balsiger: He brought

Coco over to our house.

00:57:56,708 --> 00:57:57,818

They just did.

00:57:57,818 --> 00:58:00,068

I mean, they took off and did great.

00:58:00,638 --> 00:58:05,708

So I said, I will bring Coco

in, and then he was gonna take

00:58:05,708 --> 00:58:08,258

Peewee and I said, he's so good.

00:58:08,708 --> 00:58:11,078

I said, there's, he's so easy.

00:58:11,408 --> 00:58:14,498

He just wants to, you know, relax.

00:58:14,498 --> 00:58:15,068

He slept.

00:58:15,743 --> 00:58:16,703

Stretched out.

00:58:16,703 --> 00:58:21,113

He was not on a chain anymore,

so he just kind of meandered.

00:58:21,113 --> 00:58:23,933

And then every now and then he

would get this gallop going.

00:58:23,933 --> 00:58:27,563

And we always said he looked like a

goat out there frolicking in the yard.

00:58:28,193 --> 00:58:30,023

So he said, okay.

00:58:30,423 --> 00:58:35,583

So we kept Coco continued to

foster him, probably thinking

00:58:35,583 --> 00:58:37,203

in our minds we would adopt him.

00:58:37,743 --> 00:58:42,633

And then we sent Peewee with Steffen

who he said, oh he'll just, you

00:58:42,633 --> 00:58:47,583

know, live his quiet life, uh, you

know, being out in the backyard and

00:58:47,583 --> 00:58:49,503

in the house and doing his thing.

00:58:49,503 --> 00:58:51,783

And I said, oh, said that works for me.

00:58:52,503 --> 00:58:58,023

So then we brought Cocoa in and then

that's how Steffen got Peewee back.

00:58:59,193 --> 00:58:59,194

Det. Jim Conroy:

00:58:59,194 --> 00:59:02,013

Now, she didn't ask him to take

Peewee back, he just took Peewee back.

00:59:02,853 --> 00:59:07,503

And, um, that was like

on a Saturday evening.

00:59:07,893 --> 00:59:14,673

And then, um, Monday morning, uh, he

messaged you that he needed to bring

00:59:14,673 --> 00:59:19,893

in a dog, uh, that was, uh, needed to

be euthanized and, uh, that was Peewee.

00:59:21,003 --> 00:59:27,603

And Peewee, he said Peewee was 14 years

old and had neurological condition

00:59:27,603 --> 00:59:32,733

and problems, and his quality of life

was poor and that he needed, you know,

00:59:32,733 --> 00:59:36,213

to be euthanized due to, you know,

all of those issues that he's having.

00:59:36,213 --> 00:59:37,503

So, you know, he brought him in.

00:59:37,713 --> 00:59:40,623

It was like 40 hours later

from when he took Peewee,

00:59:40,948 --> 00:59:41,168

and,

00:59:41,173 --> 00:59:42,933

and the day in between was Sunday.

00:59:42,933 --> 00:59:46,353

So, you know, we know he

didn't take Peewee anywhere.

00:59:46,773 --> 00:59:51,783

So he had Peewee euthanized at

your place on that Monday morning

00:59:51,813 --> 00:59:53,853

or noon right around there.

00:59:54,603 --> 00:59:58,863

And, um, yeah, this was one of the

tougher stories for me because I remember,

00:59:59,343 --> 01:00:02,793

when I had read this and found out

that Peewee had been euthanized,

01:00:03,153 --> 01:00:04,473

I couldn't sleep that night.

01:00:04,473 --> 01:00:06,693

It was like one in the

morning when I saw the story.

01:00:07,263 --> 01:00:09,063

Um, and it just really bothered me.

01:00:09,093 --> 01:00:14,133

'cause when I had talked to Theresa

Balsiger she was one that did not know

01:00:14,133 --> 01:00:18,483

that that that Baldwin had euthanized

Peewee, uh, she, you know, through

01:00:18,483 --> 01:00:23,393

messages, tried to contact him about,

uh, Peewee after Baldwin took her back,

01:00:23,593 --> 01:00:24,963

and always asked about Peewee.

01:00:25,515 --> 01:00:26,355

Theresa Balsiger: How's Peewee doing?

01:00:26,355 --> 01:00:27,285

Oh, he is doing great.

01:00:27,315 --> 01:00:28,155

How's Peewee doing?

01:00:28,155 --> 01:00:28,455

Great.

01:00:28,455 --> 01:00:32,655

He kept that whole time, he kept saying,

he's doing fine, he's doing fine.

01:00:32,685 --> 01:00:35,715

He's out sleeping under my kayaks.

01:00:36,405 --> 01:00:37,545

You know, he would give me.

01:00:38,400 --> 01:00:40,770

I mean, where he slept most of the day.

01:00:40,770 --> 01:00:42,540

He had a good dinner, you know this.

01:00:42,750 --> 01:00:45,720

So it was stuff that he made up

01:00:46,020 --> 01:00:47,100

Can you come over here?

01:00:47,100 --> 01:00:49,110

'cause Coco's was bad.

01:00:49,110 --> 01:00:50,610

He was horrible dog.

01:00:51,150 --> 01:00:57,360

He would, I mean, he wasn't aggressive,

but he would run and, and chase and, um,

01:00:57,540 --> 01:01:02,280

when you would come in the, like into the,

the backyard from the garage, he would

01:01:02,700 --> 01:01:06,120

run at you and jump like lung at you.

01:01:06,810 --> 01:01:12,390

And he knocked me over several times

because he's just so excited you're home

01:01:12,990 --> 01:01:14,730

and want to give you that attention.

01:01:15,435 --> 01:01:19,005

So I said, can you come over

here and help me figure out how

01:01:19,005 --> 01:01:21,105

to get him to stop doing this?

01:01:22,155 --> 01:01:25,905

Um, well I can't because I've got my son.

01:01:25,935 --> 01:01:31,275

I can't because I'm this, I can't because,

and I said, well, if you don't come over

01:01:31,275 --> 01:01:35,805

here and help me, I said, then I'm going

to get, you're gonna take this dog back.

01:01:35,915 --> 01:01:38,615

He now, he is so good mannered.

01:01:38,825 --> 01:01:40,655

He doesn't jump on anybody.

01:01:40,685 --> 01:01:46,685

He's still ex exceptionally excited and

happy when anybody comes to see him.

01:01:46,985 --> 01:01:52,625

So I mean, it just, but I thought you

adopt out these dogs that are very strong

01:01:52,630 --> 01:01:55,295

and muscular and then you just walk away.

01:01:55,625 --> 01:01:59,315

You don't give any extra help with.

01:02:00,200 --> 01:02:02,090

How can I fix this problem?

01:02:02,630 --> 01:02:06,590

And then, and if I wouldn't have stuck

with it and he would've went back to

01:02:06,590 --> 01:02:11,060

Steffen's I wholeheartedly believe Coco

would've been put down for some reason.

01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:11,681

Det. Jim Conroy:

01:02:11,681 --> 01:02:16,270

She told me she eventually,

um, confronted him some place

01:02:16,270 --> 01:02:18,760

maybe back in like December.

01:02:19,360 --> 01:02:22,840

Um, after, you know, he had taken him

in June and he said, oh yeah, Peewee

01:02:22,840 --> 01:02:26,980

had passed away, you know, recently

and, you know, due to the old age.

01:02:26,985 --> 01:02:28,330

And, and that's what he had told her.

01:02:28,670 --> 01:02:31,790

Theresa Balsiger: Do you remember

when the Mars Food Company

01:02:31,790 --> 01:02:33,800

always did those adoption events?

01:02:33,830 --> 01:02:34,010

Yes.

01:02:34,190 --> 01:02:37,890

Did you, so it was during

that adoption event.

01:02:38,520 --> 01:02:46,070

We went, and I saw Steffen

and I said, how is Peewee?

01:02:46,280 --> 01:02:52,550

Because I think if I, if I remember

correctly, I'm not positive, but I think

01:02:52,550 --> 01:02:59,370

Stephanie had given me some kind of, I

need to talk, you need to talk to Steffen,

01:03:00,170 --> 01:03:06,890

and I was bound and determined, and when

I finally saw him during that event.

01:03:07,370 --> 01:03:10,700

He said, well, I never wanted to tell.

01:03:10,700 --> 01:03:16,430

I always wanted to tell you to your face

that I had put, had to put Peewee down.

01:03:17,020 --> 01:03:17,021

Det. Jim Conroy:

01:03:17,021 --> 01:03:21,070

So I told her that no Peewee

was euthanized on June 8th.

01:03:21,610 --> 01:03:26,860

You turned Peewee over to him on June

6th at like 6:00 PM on a Saturday night.

01:03:27,250 --> 01:03:28,960

And she refused to believe me.

01:03:28,990 --> 01:03:30,190

She would not believe me.

01:03:30,400 --> 01:03:34,450

She's like, there's no way that

Peewee was euthanized on the eighth.

01:03:34,450 --> 01:03:37,570

And I, I'm like telling you, I am

looking at the records right now.

01:03:37,810 --> 01:03:38,950

He was euthanized.

01:03:39,760 --> 01:03:41,830

She was beside herself.

01:03:42,550 --> 01:03:46,510

She thought that Peewee had died,

you know, due to just getting older.

01:03:47,080 --> 01:03:47,590

Um.

01:03:48,715 --> 01:03:53,695

And she just was, again, another

devastated person from hearing about

01:03:53,695 --> 01:03:56,545

just a sweet dog that she had videos of.

01:03:57,205 --> 01:04:01,525

Um, and this was just a sweet,

gentle dog that did not deserve that.

01:04:01,862 --> 01:04:04,262

Theresa Balsiger: He kept that

whole time, he kept saying, he's

01:04:04,262 --> 01:04:06,062

doing fine, he's doing fine.

01:04:06,092 --> 01:04:09,122

He's out sleeping under my kayaks.

01:04:09,812 --> 01:04:10,952

You know, he would give me.

01:04:11,807 --> 01:04:14,177

I mean, where he slept most of the day.

01:04:14,177 --> 01:04:15,947

He had a good dinner, you know this.

01:04:16,157 --> 01:04:21,377

So it was stuff that he made up

because Doc then, um, detective

01:04:21,377 --> 01:04:27,467

Conroy told me the very next day, so

I think whenever day we gave him on

01:04:27,467 --> 01:04:33,557

a Sunday or a Saturday, he said that

next day is when he was put down.

01:04:34,697 --> 01:04:36,737

And I went, you're kidding me?

01:04:36,737 --> 01:04:37,607

And he said, Nope.

01:04:38,237 --> 01:04:41,387

I am not, he said, and I'm sorry

to be the one to tell you that.

01:04:41,627 --> 01:04:41,628

Det. Jim Conroy:

01:04:41,628 --> 01:04:47,927

Thankfully, you know, so when I got

the vet records, um, you know, what he

01:04:47,927 --> 01:04:50,717

had told, uh, whoever had euthanized.

01:04:50,717 --> 01:04:53,657

I don't remember if it was you or

someone else who had euthanized.

01:04:53,657 --> 01:04:53,717

DrG: No.

01:04:53,717 --> 01:04:58,547

he brought him over to Rascal Animal

Hospital and told the doctor, Dr.

01:04:58,547 --> 01:05:04,877

Decker at that time, um, told her

that he was having problems, and I

01:05:04,877 --> 01:05:10,157

think even seizures and neurological

conditions and just not doing well.

01:05:10,210 --> 01:05:10,211

Det. Jim Conroy:

01:05:10,211 --> 01:05:10,540

Yeah.

01:05:10,540 --> 01:05:15,100

And neurological conditions, poor

quality of life, um, you know,

01:05:15,100 --> 01:05:18,790

palliative care and end of life, you

know, needs just need to be euthanized.

01:05:18,790 --> 01:05:25,779

Well, thankfully Theresa Balsiger had

taken Peewee to her vet and that report

01:05:25,779 --> 01:05:32,290

was nothing like, uh, what Baldwin gave

to you guys, which was complete opposite.

01:05:32,350 --> 01:05:34,570

You know, Peewee had a

very good quality of life.

01:05:34,660 --> 01:05:37,029

Peewee had no neurological conditions.

01:05:37,330 --> 01:05:41,950

Peewee was just a sweet boy that

was just starting from, lived

01:05:41,950 --> 01:05:47,620

a life of, of a horrible life,

neglect in a hoarding situation.

01:05:47,680 --> 01:05:52,270

Um, I believe he was tied outside,

uh, to a chain, uh, and a very

01:05:52,300 --> 01:05:56,500

short chain at that and, you know,

to finally get a chance in life.

01:05:56,560 --> 01:05:58,060

And there was no reason.

01:05:58,820 --> 01:06:00,170

Theresa Balsiger: I'd had him to Dr.

01:06:00,170 --> 01:06:03,190

Sullivan, who was my regular vet.

01:06:04,255 --> 01:06:06,385

And he said he was fine.

01:06:06,385 --> 01:06:12,685

He goes, he walked in circles, but he

said he walked in circles because he was

01:06:12,685 --> 01:06:15,145

on a chain for eight years of his life.

01:06:15,625 --> 01:06:22,090

And he goes, he will eventually

transition out of that, but you just

01:06:22,090 --> 01:06:23,770

have to let him do it on his own.

01:06:23,830 --> 01:06:24,670

And I said, all right.

01:06:24,670 --> 01:06:28,180

So we didn't force him and we would, he

would get out and he would go out in the

01:06:28,180 --> 01:06:33,250

yard and he would start meandering around

with the other dogs and doing things.

01:06:33,250 --> 01:06:36,220

So he was slowly getting out of that.

01:06:36,850 --> 01:06:40,360

My life is not at the

end of this chain always.

01:06:40,750 --> 01:06:41,080

DrG: Yeah.

01:06:41,080 --> 01:06:43,720

So he had like obsessive compulsive type,

01:06:44,529 --> 01:06:49,300

activity as far as just the circling,

that was not a neurologic problem.

01:06:49,300 --> 01:06:49,390

Yes.

01:06:49,450 --> 01:06:52,330

But more of a behavioral issue

from the condition that he

01:06:52,330 --> 01:06:53,920

was kept for so many years.

01:06:54,220 --> 01:06:55,060

Theresa Balsiger: Yes.