Brian Lee Stewart, 31, of Carney, was sentenced last week to seven months in jail for Animal Abandonment/Cruelty to four to ten dogs. The case began in October 2020, when the Menominee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of abandoned dogs in Holmes Township, following a tip from a Unites States Postal Service mail carrier. Menominee County Chief Assistant Attorney Jerry Karafa says, “there is no excuse for not taking these dogs to the kennel.”

Menominee Animal Shelter representative Samantha Koller says, “as an animal shelter employee going on ten-years, I can think of one other case that would be on this level.”

Judge Christopher S. Ninomya also placed Stewart on three-years felony probation and barred him from having any pets, “not even a goldfish,” during the term of his probation. Stewart is also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service. The Animal Shelter would also like to remind the community that there is no fee to surrender a pet; we know it can be a difficult decision to give up a pet, and we are here to help.