MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — After months of evidence, a judge will now decide if dozens of wolfdogs will remain at the Howling Timbers Animal Sanctuary in Muskegon County.
The civil case against Brenda Pearson began in October 2021, following an investigation of complaints of injuries at her facility.
Closing arguments in the civil case against the sanctuary happened Friday morning. The prosecutor argued more than a dozen violations were proven, including unreported bites, unlocked enclosures and mistreatment and neglect, and therefore the animals must be forfeited.
The sanctuary's owner is Brenda Pearson and her a 2-year-old granddaughter lost her arm after being bitten by one of the wolfdogs in 2020. Pearson's defense attorney, Celeste Dunn, argued the prosecution is using the tragedy to try to destroy the business, and that no members of the public were bitten by the wolfdogs.
"Those pictures are fodder for this court to think there's a public safety aspect, but not one person of the public has been injured by any of those wolfdogs. Not one," said Dunn.
Since October, witnesses have testified that wolfdogs at the sanctuary were found in a variety of conditions, ranging from generally healthy to injured. Witnesses also said that Pearson did not have the permits required to run the sanctuary, and that a variety of animals were allegedly removed that Pearson did not have the permits to house.
The judge will have an opinion on April 7.
If there is a forfeiture and there are no other sanctuaries that can take the animals, the judge says she'll have no other option but to have the wolfdogs euthanized.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.