Collin Rand Jr., 33, pled not guilty to felony dog-fighting charges in Cleveland Municipal Court December 29. His bond was set at $7,500. Since Rand has no prior criminal record, he posted bail. Today he has surrendered ownership of the 27 dogs to the City of Cleveland.
Police raided Rand’s home on E. 91st Street on December 22 after receiving an anonymous tip about dog-fighting activity at the address. Unlike many dog-fighting cases, no other crimes are involved. Twenty-Seven dogs were removed from Rand’s home. There is no ordinance in the City of Cleveland limiting the number of pets a resident can have.
When a warrant was issued for his arrest and a photo of him posted to the public, Rand called his attorney, Harvey Bruner. On December 27, Bruner and Rand appeared at the Cleveland Police Departments warrant unit, and Rand surrendered to police.
A preliminary hearing is set for January 13, but Bruner says Rand will likely be indicted before then.
Meanwhile, 24 of the dogs that were seized are doing well at the Cleveland City Kennel. Three others are in a vet’s care; one dog had an open wound, another had an abscess. The third had to have emergency surgery for a prolapsed uterus. The dogs are being held as evidence in the case, and the suspect is being charged by the city for the dogs’ daily care.
Donations are being accepted to help pay for the veterinary care, vaccinations, heartworm tests and sterilizations; friendsofclevelandkennel.com, facebook.com/clevelandcitykennel, 216-274-9480. Or send a check to:
‘Friends of the Cleveland Kennel’ with ‘Hope for the 27’ in the notes section
Send to:
Friends of the Cleveland Kennel
PO Box 770423
Lakewood, Ohio 44107
A petition is being signed at change.org asking for maximum sentencing if Rand is convicted.
Director, John Baird, said that all of the animals have been very friendly. Volunteers have shown up at the kennel every day for the last week to wash, exercise and socialize the pit bulls. Baird said that now that Rand has surrendered ownership of the dogs, the kennel can work on getting them transferred to rescue groups and placed in foster homes. Baird is determining the procedure and criteria a rescue will have to meet in order to take any of the dogs into its organization.
Rand was the only dog-fighting suspect arrested this year in Northeast Ohio. Anyone with any information on dog fighting activity in Cleveland is asked to call the city kennel, 216-664-3069, or police, 216-621-1234. If your tip leads to a conviction, you could receive a reward from the Humane Society of the United States.
HSUS has paid out 100 $5,000 rewards for information about dog-fighting since 2007, including five cases in Ohio. If you have information about dog-fighting activity anywhere in Ohio, call your local police or sheriff’s office and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at 877-Ag4OHIO. If the dog fighter is convicted, ask the law enforcement agency involved to write a letter to the HSUS that says your tip helped lead to a conviction. Send it to:
The Reward Program, HSUS, 2100 L St. NW, Washington, DC, 20037, or fax 301-721-6414.
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