HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The woman accused of intentionally causing the death of a dog boarded at her Halfmoon facility was in court on Wednesday. Yvette Giovanni, the owner of A Time Four Paws, is charged with multiple counts of animal abuse, including inadequate care of an animal resulting in death, criminal mischief, and aggravated cruelty to animals.
She was in court with a new attorney. She asked for more time to prepare her case and made a plea to transfer her case to another court.
“I think that’s absolutely absurd,” Katie Levy said. “She ran a business in our community. That’s where her trial should be held.”
Levy’s 2.5-year-old French bulldog Gus died while in Giovanni’s care. Since his death, new laws have been created to protect pets in New York.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Levy said. “I think the fact that it got everyone’s attention, and everybody made all these statements about change, and then changes actually happened within a few months is phenomenal.”
Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett said he felt something needed to be done after several recent cases of animal abuse.
“We realized that with kennels and boarding houses, there was very little, if any, oversight,” he explained.
The town passed a law Monday night to provide oversight to prevent further abuse cases.
“Clifton Park wants to be an example,” Barrett said. “Really, our intention is to work in partnership with the businesses. We want to play a supportive role. We want to work with them and have a more open line of communication because we continue to analyze regulations, in general, because we wanted to take a more comprehensive approach.”
For a first offense, facilities will be given five days to fix the problem or face a fine of up to $250. The fine will double for second and third offenses. Major violations will face a fine up to $1,500, permit removal, and closing of the facility.
However, Barrett said it’s not about overregulation or burdensome fees.
“It’s more about working cooperatively but having those health and safety inspections to make sure that the companion animal that you’ve left there in their care, you can have a little more confidence that they’re being cared for well,” he said.
Barrett also announced the first formal meeting of the Saratoga County Animal Abuse Task Force.
“It’s comprised of individuals that work in various departments, comprehensive internal approach. We’re finding gaps in regulations; we’re finding those gaps, and the website just went live today.”
You can report an incident online by emailing animalcrimes@saratogacountyny.gov or by calling the sheriff’s office at (518) 885-6761.
Giovanni, meanwhile, is expected back in court November 12.
Courtney Ward
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