When Bogey arrived at the Lucas County Pit Crew in Toledo, Ohio, in December, staff weren’t sure he’d survive the night. He weighed 18 pounds, couldn’t hold up his own head, and his eyes didn’t track movement.
A Dog on the Edge
Bogey, a roughly 9-month-old pit bull, was surrendered by his owner, Ashley Roderick, in a condition rescue staff described as near death: severely dehydrated, emaciated, and unable to stand. “When we first took Bogey to the emergency clinic, he couldn’t hold his own head up. His eyes didn’t move,” said Jean Keating, executive director of the Lucas County Pit Crew. “He only weighed about 18 pounds… The first night at the clinic, he gained five pounds in water weight in 12 hours just through IVs.”
Staff weren’t sure he’d pull through. He did, slowly. Bogey also had severe eye infections that ultimately required removing one eye entirely, leaving him with limited vision in the other.
The Case Against His Owner
Roderick was formally charged in January with felony animal cruelty and pleaded not guilty at her arraignment. She was released on a recognizance bond and ordered to complete a mental health assessment. “The suffering that he has gone through was completely unnecessary and people need to realize there are consequences to doing that to someone else,” Keating said at the time.
The case moved through pretrial hearings for months while Bogey, in foster care, continued to improve. By September, Roderick withdrew her not-guilty plea and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge: prohibitions concerning companion animals, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Sentencing
Roderick was sentenced on October 27 to 180 days at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio, the maximum allowed for the misdemeanor charge, and ordered to pay $3,494 in restitution to cover Bogey’s medical bills. Judge Lindsay Navarre did not hold back in court: “Bogey would have been better off wandering the street, eating from Dumpsters, than he was in your care — or, quite frankly, lack thereof.”
Some in the community had hoped for a tougher outcome given the original felony charge, but many took the sentence, the maximum available once the plea deal was reached, as a real measure of accountability.
Bogey’s Recovery
Through all of it, staff and foster caregivers say Bogey’s personality never dimmed. He doubled his weight within three weeks of arriving at the shelter and moved into a foster home for round-the-clock care shortly after. In a Facebook post written in Bogey’s voice, as the Pit Crew often does for its animals, the shelter wrote ahead of the trial: “People tell me it’s a miracle that I am alive. I wasn’t ready for my story to end and with an entire crew behind me, I fought for my life.”
Bogey has since been adopted into a permanent home. “If we all could live like Bogey and just move on with life, we’d all be a lot happier, I am sure,” Keating said.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Bogey’s eye? Severe infections led to the removal of one eye; he has limited vision in the remaining eye but hasn’t let it slow him down, according to the rescue.
What was Roderick ultimately convicted of? She pleaded guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor, prohibitions concerning companion animals, after an original felony animal cruelty charge.
Where is Bogey now? He was adopted into a permanent home after a period of foster care with the Lucas County Pit Crew.
Sources: WTOL (multiple reports, Dec. 2019–Sept. 2020); 13abc (multiple reports); TheAnimalRescueSite; Lucas County Pit Crew (Facebook).
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