Chained puppy dies of neglect-Sentencing Oct. 28

The Ohio woman whose German shepherd puppy died with a temperature of 106 degrees after being on a tangled chain in sweltering heat has been found guilty of animal abuse and child endangering.

Jody L. Seabolt, 48, of South Lakeview Ave., entered pleas of no contest Wednesday [Sept 3, 2008] in municipal court to the two charges. A second count of child endangering was dismissed in a plea agreement.

Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. found Seabolt guilty, ordered a background investigation and set sentencing for Oct. 28. She faces up to nine months in jail.

After court, Seabolt had no comment.

Three of her neighbors who attended Wednesday's court hearing said they hope she is punished with the maximum time in jail.

"He was cooked alive with a temperature of 106," Detective Sgt. John Perdue said in June as he signed charges against the dog's owner. "I had half the neighborhood in my office signing complaints."

The normal temperature for a healthy dog can range from 99 to 102 degrees.

When arrested in June, Seabolt lived in a house she rented at 118 S. Portland Ave. The endangering charges related to what Patrolman Sam Mosca described as the squalid and unsafe conditions he found inside Seabolt'shome.

The children, Seabolt's 8-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter, were taken by agents from Mahoning County Children Services Board and placed temporarily with an aunt, reports show. Mosca said in his report the children were home when they should have been in school and records showed they'd been absent from school a lot.

Seabolt told The Vindicator in June she was at work when her dog was removed by neighbors and taken to a vet. She denied mistreatment of the animal, saying he had food and water but added that he sometimes would knock the dishes over.