CHEYENNE — A guilty plea to misdemeanor charges by a Laramie County man who had amassed a hoard of 101 live and 22 dead animals kept in “abhorrent” conditions is an extreme example of Wyoming’s lax cruelty laws, an animal advocate says.
“The laws are virtually nonexistent,” said Britney Tennant, director of the Cheyenne Animal Shelter who has been lobbying for stronger animal cruelty laws in Wyoming since 2006.
“We have the worst animal protection laws in this country. The Legislature just is not interested in addressing this type of stuff,” she said.
Michael Ohern, 71, was originally charged with 22 felony counts of animal cruelty for the 22 dead pets found in his home last October, according to court documents. Another 101 live animals suffering from various stages of neglect also were seized.
In December, the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the felony charges because the evidence didn’t rise to the level to support them, and six counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty were filed instead.
On Thursday during what had been set as a status conference in the case, Ohern pleaded guilty to the four charges in return for two others being dismissed, according to the Laramie County Circuit Court.
Nobody knows the condition of those animals better than Tennant and her staff, who took them in and found homes for all but three of them after they had recovered, she said.
Two died, a tortoise that had a number of severe body abscesses and a bird. The third is still at the shelter, Tennant said.
That would be Bijou, a red-rumped parakeet rescued from Ohern’s home that now lives in Tennant’s office and pretty much thinks he owns the place, she said.
“One of those birds is now a full-time resident in my office,” she said, explaining that he flies around the office during the daytime and holds up in his cage at night. “He gets basically free rein of our administrative office area.”
History Of Hoarding
Ohern could get up to six months in jail and a $750 fine for each of the four misdemeanors he pleaded guilty to. Had he been convicted on the 22 felony charges, he could have been sentenced to up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each.
It’s the latest in a history of extreme animal hoarding for Ohern, according to court records. He’s been cited at least 33 other times for various animal-related offenses since 2022, including pets not being vaccinated, public nuisance, and cruelty.
In April 2022, after neighbors complained about 15 loose dogs harassing their livestock, 64 dogs, three cats, and 13 birds were recovered from Ohern’s home.
“Conditions were described as severely unsanitary, with feces piled up to 2 feet high in areas,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in his case. “Many animals were covered in feces, dehydrated, or in poor health.”
The animals taken from his home in October include dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, tortoises, small birds and a goat.
Where To Go
Tennant said that advocating for stronger, more complete animal cruelty laws doesn’t mean she thinks hoarders like Ohern only belong in prison. They often are in need of mental health treatment.
Also, there should be something spelled out in state laws that clearly states how and when habitual animal abusers can be banned from owning animals again, she said.
“Hoarding, unfortunately, is a known mental health condition. People like Mr. Ohern exist all over the country,” Tennant said. “He should be banned, but then the question is how much public resources do we spend on monitoring that situation?”
The state now recognizes animals as property “the same way they would a bicycle,” she added. “What I would like to see Wyoming do is tackle this at an interim topic level.
“We’ve had decades of heinous examples now like Mr. Ohern. The reason for (not having stronger laws) is it’s complicated, and our statutes don’t do a good job of differentiating between those types of animals.”
She said that “lots and lots of states” have fleshed out comprehensive animal cruelty laws, “and Wyoming should too.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
