Staff Report

Daniel E. Lybarger

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was recently arrested after allegedly not providing proper food, water and shelter for a dog.

Daniel E. Lybarger, 47, 7021 W. 100N, Warsaw, is charged with cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor.

On Nov. 18, 2021, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office received a report about an “extremely malnourished” male dog at an undisclosed location. Court documents state KCSO had received calls of concern about the dog in the past. Each time the dog had been checked on, there were no violations.

On Nov. 11, 2021, the dog had fresh water, shelter, and an adequate area to run about in a fenced-in pen. The dog was not malnourished and seemed to have a good disposition.

Five days later, the dog’s condition was checked again. The dog had water that was partially frozen and did have food. That day, a KCSO deputy left a note asking the dog’s owner to contact him.

Lybarger contacted the deputy, who explained the calls of concern about the dog and recommended the dog should have bedding during the cold months.

Lybarger told the deputy the dog’s shelter was an insulated box but that the dog chooses to lay outside instead of in the box.

On Dec. 7, 2021, the deputy went to check on the dog’s well-being and living conditions. The outside temperature was about 16 degrees at the time. There was no bedding for the dog and no food available. A bucket and bowl of water in the dog’s pen were solid ice.

The KCSO deputy impounded the dog and took him to the Animal Welfare League.

Later that day, the deputy met with a doctor from the Indiana Board of Animal Health at AWL. The deputy examined the dog and made the following comments:

“Although the body condition of the dog was okay, he was on the low side of normal with a body condition score of 4.0. With winter conditions probably getting worse in the next three to four months, it concerns me that he can be maintained with this score considering his current care.”

Indiana’s Standards of Care for animals dictate that an owner provide access to food and water that can reasonably be expected to maintain the animal’s health.

“A dog this size will require at least 3 1/3 cups of fluid water a day,” read the doctor’s comments. “An ice-filled bowl will not provide that. Food should also be provided in a contaminated-free manner. Feeding on the ground does not meet that requirement.”

For the dog’s shelter, Indiana Standards of Care require sufficient shelter from weather when it can reasonably be expected to be necessary to maintain health.

Court documents state the dog is a husky; it does not require as much shelter as normal dogs but does need more than what was provided by Lybarger.

Lybarger was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Feb. 24, with a $500 cash bond.