Buster, the dog abused in the video, peers out of Ringler’s car window. Courtesy | Facebook
Two local men are facing misdemeanor charges after Facebook videos were posted Feb. 26 showing one of the men throwing, dragging, and punching a dog.
“I think the measure of a man is how he treats animals and children,” Mayor Adam Stockford said. “If our county will accept this sort of brutality, it is nothing short of failure and neglect.”
The Facebook posts sparked outrage among residents, who called for intervention by law enforcement and animal welfare groups.
“We’ve received lots of calls and messages regarding the animal cruelty videos that have been circulating that took place in Hillsdale County,” the Greater Hillsdale Humane Society said in a Facebook post the same day. “We can confirm that the dogs will be removed from the situation shortly, and will be placed into foster homes not associated with GHHS.”
The Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office helped a couple from Albion, AJ and Amanda Ringler, pick up the dogs on Feb. 27 and take them to a no-kill animal shelter.
“Today was a whirlwind of emotions,” Amanda Ringler said in a Feb. 27 post, which is no longer on Facebook. “Last night I reposted a series of videos of dogs being abused. Today, I got confirmation that the owners were willing to surrender the animals. I immediately messaged the wife of the man in the video telling her I would come get the dogs no questions asked.”
Ringler said she received a message from the sheriff’s office, and a sergeant and two deputies accompanied her and her husband to pick up the dogs.
“The owner brought each dog out one by one and placed them in the back of my Jeep as he told me a little bit about each of the dogs and their personalities,” Ringler said. “They were cordial with us, however, they had confrontation with their neighbors who were pretty upset, understandably, with them and the videos.”
Ringler posted a video on Feb. 28 she said she received from the GHHS, showing the dogs running and playing in a fenced-in yard.
Hillsdale County Prosecutor Neal Brady said when a Facebook post told people to contact the prosecutor, his office got so many calls about the incident that it began to interfere with its work.
“The problem is that we didn’t have any police report, we didn’t have a warrant request, we didn’t have any tickets or documentation. This is something that happened outside of our knowledge and influence, and so we couldn’t help any of the people who were calling,” Brady said. “What we had to do was get a hold of the investigating agencies and tell them to send their police reports or request for charges.”
Brady said Cody Wilson, allegedly shown in the video, and Rodney Cousino are facing charges for the incident.
Cousino was arrested March 3 on warrants for controlled substance possession and cruelty to animals, according to the sheriff’s office. He posted a $25,000 bond with 10% allowed. According to the Hillsdale 2B District Court, he was arraigned on March 3, with a pretrial scheduled for March 15.
The Michigan State Police is handling the case, according to the sheriff’s office. The GHHS asked readers who have witnessed animal abuse to call the sheriff’s office at 517-437-7317.
