Dog shooter gets six months

Former Sheltie breeder appeals

By SANDY LONG

WAYNE COUNTY, PA — Two separate animal cruelty cases pursued by Dessin Animal Shelter’s Humane Society police officer Marlene Metzger and state dog warden Jim Rickert saw action this week.

John Paul Reck of Lake Ariel pled guilty to an M3 misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct before Judge Bonnie L. Carney in District Court 22-3-01 in Hawley on September 23, and was sentenced to six months in prison. The charge was the result of an incident in which Reck shot and killed his mother-in-law’s Doberman Pinscher, Shadow, in May. According to Metzger, Reck removed the dog from the home where it had been living and took it to his home, where he shot it and disposed of its body in the woods, where Metzger observed the carcass.

Reck is currently housed at the Wayne County Jail on other unrelated charges and may face additional fines.

Meanwhile, former Shetland Sheepdog breeder SueAnn Wilke-Westbrook has filed an appeal to her conviction on 25 counts of animal cruelty and 31 dog law violations on August 26. The former Honesdale resident was ordered to forfeit her 14 dogs and one cat and is prevented from owning a dog for six years, after stowing 10 of the dogs in a metal storage unit on Commercial Street and other incidents.

The appeal is scheduled for October 22. Until that time, the dogs will remain in protective custody at the shelter and at various foster homes where they are receiving care.