Officials Seize Emaciated Dogs; Owner Fined $12,000

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NBC San Diego

EL CAJON, Calif. -- A man convicted of animal abuse for failing to properly care for his eight dogs has been placed on five years' probation and ordered to pay more than $12,900 in restitution to animal control authorities.

In May, a jury found Todd Gaerin, 42, guilty of seven misdemeanor charges of animal abuse or neglect, failure to properly care for an animal and failure to obtain a license for a dog over 4 months old.

San Diego County animal control officers were called to Gaerin's home Feb. 16 after one of his dogs jumped into a neighbor's yard. The neighbor noticed the dog looked skinny and sickly, according to testimony during the one-day trial. Prosecutors said Gaerin's dogs appeared so thin that their bones stuck out, and that their weight quickly increased when the officers began feeding them at a nearby shelter.

The dogs had such dirty ears that some appeared to be deaf to animal control workers. Their hearing and health has improved since they were taken away from Gaerin, authorities said.


Gaerin was acquitted of one count of animal abuse pertaining to one dog that was not as thin or malnourished as the others.

The judge allowed Gaerin to have one dog while on probation, saying he believed Gaerin mistreated his dogs due to his declining health, not "mean-spiritedness."

"I just want my dogs back," Gaerin said in court.