Pet offender registry outs animal abusers

Lawmakers pushing to make animal abuse registry statewide

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Marion County Animal Services takes in a staggering 11,000 animals every year -- cats, dogs, horses, even emus -- that are unwanted, abandoned or stray.

The shelter's director said too many of those animals come in abused.

"It's heartbreaking," said Deborah Horvath, director of Marion County Animal Services. "You should see what we see on a daily basis. If you sat at the front counter for an hour you would be shocked. You should see the horses we bring in. They're hundreds of pounds underweight, they look like the walking dead."

Horvath's mission is to rehabilitate all of those animals and find them good homes but that is often difficult. She said it's hard to know who will be a good pet owner.

"We can't possibly go visit thousands of families every year," Horvath said.

Horvath finally had enough.

She and Marion County Commissioner David Moore pushed for a law in Marion County that created an online, searchable database of criminally convicted animal abusers, much like a sex offender registry.

File: READ - Bill to make statewide animal abuse registry

The animal abuse registry is nicknamed Molly's Law for a dog that was stabbed and beaten by the owner's then-boyfriend, Steven Scott Fleming. Fleming served two years in prison for animal abuse and was arrested last year for domestic battery on a woman.

"And then after he went to jail he wanted to have more animals, but we believe that someone who did this to a dog should not own another animal and do this to another animal," Moore said. "Also, people who abuse animals abuse people. Like this gentleman, who got arrested the next time for abuse to a person."

Horvath agreed.

"We see animal abuse every day, of one kind or another, and it takes a terrible toll on staff, let alone the animals," Horvath said. "So we need to take a stand. We need to do something about it."

Molly's Law -- Marion County's animal abuse registry -- went into effect Jan. 1.

"You will see the name, address and mug shot of a person that has been convicted of an animal abuse crime in criminal court," Horvath said. 

Anyone can check the registry, which is available here.

"Pet stores, mom-and-pops selling kittens on street corners," Horvath said. "All you have to do is look on that list and see the name."

Michael Britton, previous owner of Yoshi the dog, an Australian shepard, was arrested in November after police said he threw Yoshi into oncoming traffic twice. Horvath said that if convicted, Britton would become the first person on Marion County's Animal Abuse Registry.

A bill currently moving through the Florida House would make the animal abuse registry a statewide law.

Moore said he will travel to Tallahassee to work on strengthening the bill and build support for a companion bill in the Florida Senate.


About the Author:

Erik von Ancken anchors and reports for News 6 and is a two-time Emmy award-winning journalist in the prestigious and coveted "On-Camera Talent" categories for both anchoring and reporting.