BATH – The first year of the Steuben County Sheriff Department’s animal cruelty unit yielded investigations into 109 reports of cruelty or neglect, county Sheriff Jim Allard said. Allard recently reported the department’s investigations in 2016 took place in 35 towns or villages, with 90 percent of the inquiries conducted by Animal Cruelty Officer Todd Terwilliger. "Over ninety percent of these investigations were closed with compliance," Allard said. "Eleven were deemed unfounded and two resulted in arrests." Three investigations resulted in the owners voluntarily signing the animals over to the Finger Lakes SPCA and two complaints remain open, he said. Most investigations in 2016 were resolved by issuing a written or verbal warning with education and compliance statements followed up with an actual, physical compliance check, Allard said. Typically, Terwilliger interacted with suspects at least twice, with many investigations involving three or more visits. Since the department’s animal cruelty program was launched in January 2016, all road patrol deputies have been trained in the initial response to animal cruelty allegations, with Terwilliger receiving additional special training.
"On average, Deputy Terwilliger completed nine investigations per month," Allard said. "In comparison, a full time criminal investigator typically completes five investigations per month." Allard said in contrast, Chemung County – one-third the size and two-thirds the population of Steuben -- has three full time animal cruelty investigators. "All in all, I feel that Deputy Terwilliger does an outstanding job meeting the needs of the animal cruelty investigation and enforcement requirements," Allard said.
