re: Terrence Cody gets jail time for animal cruelty case

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I'm not defending Cody at all but I don't see the relevance of putting someone behind bars over an animal. Like I said, I have a different perspective on animals than most animal lovers. I know a lot of you would choose the dog over a human if both needed rescuing. He did a bad thing, like when some of you cheat on your wives, but it's a damn dog.

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Cody's attorney, Joe Murtha, admitted his client had neglected the dog, but said he never intended for it to die. Murtha said Cody paid $4,000 for the dog, a Presa Canario, or Canary mastiff, named Taz, and another $4,000 to import it from Spain and was crying when he took his pet to the Main Street Veterinary Hospital in Reistertown, Md., in January. The dog died there.

Prosecutor Adam Lippe used a slide show during his opening statements, the Baltimore Sun reported, that included photos of the dog and its dirty cage.

Witnesses for the prosecution included Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, a forensic veterinarian; Dr. Eddie Molesworth, a vet at Main Street Animal Hospital; and Cody's neighbors.

Smith-Blackmore said the dog died of starvation after being neglected for at least four weeks.

"It was clear that this dog had been very badly neglected for a long period of time," Smith-Blackmore told WJZ-TV outside the courtroom.

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Cody and Kelley are each charged with 15 counts, including aggravated animal cruelty, a felony. They could be sentenced to more than three years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if convicted.

Cody was released by the Ravens when he was indicted in February.

Ensor will decide the verdict in the case after both Kelley and Cody opted for a bench trial rather than a jury trial.

Lippe projected a slide titled "Killing of the Family Dog" as he delivered opening statements. He also presented photos of the emaciated dog and a dirty cage at Cody's 4,000-square-foot former home in Reisterstown.

Cody and Kelley also are accused of misdemeanor drug charges and of illegally possessing an alligator. Lippe presented photos of two assault rifles and drug paraphernalia — including a gas-mask bong and a 6-foot-long green glass bong — found in the home the couple leased for about a year on Old Grey Mare Court.

Molina emphasized that Kelley was not the dog's caretaker. She was working, eight months' pregnant and had a small child at home around the time of Taz's death, he said.

"She had her hands full," he said.

The drug paraphernalia was stored in Cody's "man cave" and Kelley did not know marijuana was in the house, Molina said.

According to forensic veterinarian Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, an expert witness who testified for the prosecution, Taz died of starvation and had likely been neglected for at least four weeks.

The Canary mastiff is an ancient breed of dog tracing back to the Roman Empire, she said. They are typically very muscular and weigh between 99 and 141 pounds.

Taz weighed less than 50 pounds the night he died, Lippe said.

Reisterstown veterinarian Dr. Eddie Molesworth and his staff also took the stand to describe the night Cody brought Taz into the animal hospital.

"I thought he was dead," Molesworth said. In the dog's face, "you could see every bone."

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Cody was ultimately found not guilty on two felony counts related to animal cruelty, but guilty of nine other misdemeanors, including failure to provide food, vet care, drink and proper space for the dog, as well as charges related to housing an alligator found in the home and charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

"At the end of the story, this case was always about respect for animals and that you don't get a free pass for killing your own dog," Baltimore County Assistant State's Attorney Adam Lippe said.

Lippe said he's satisfied with the verdicts handed down by a judge.

"The science is that a dog will take time to starve just like a person. He let this dog starve over more than four weeks and there was no excuse for it. In the end, that dog was eating trash and eating bones to survive," Lippe said.

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