On Wednesday, the grand jury returned indictments for three counts of cruelty to companion animals, a fifth-degree felony, and three counts of confinement of dogs, a third-degree misdemeanor.
According to court documents, animal control officer Jamie Hearlihy was dispatched to the Grace residence to check on three dogs in the back of the house. She found two pitbull type dogs and a Labrador retriever mix in plastic crates with frozen blankets in them. All three dogs were tied on 6- to 10-foot tethers.
When Hearlihy spoke to Grace, she said she didn’t want to talk outside because “it was cold,” according to the report. Grace was told to bring the dogs inside, but she “refused to do so as she didn’t have room in the house for three large dogs.”
Grace surrendered the dogs to the officer to be taken to a shelter. When Hearlihy checked on them one was dead and the other two were very thin with ribs showing, according to the report.
Grace is free on bond and is scheduled