Kimberly Fidlin, 521 Clarke St., Cascade, WI 53011
has a preliminary hearing on 3/12/14 at 3:30pm at the courthouse. 615 North 6th St., Sheboygan, WI. Please contact District Attorney Joe DeCecco at 920-459-3040, fax 920-459-4383. NO MERCY! NO DEALS!
39-year-old Cascade woman has been charged for allegedly leaving her dog behind in a home she’d lost in foreclosure, where the animal was recently found dead.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Sheboygan County Circuit Court, Kimberly A. Fidlin, of 521 Clark St., allegedly moved in with her boyfriend in Cascade after her Lake Street home was foreclosed upon but left her dog alone in her old residence.
The dog, an 8-year-old Beagle-mix named “Lucky,” was found dead and frozen on a pet bed inside Fidlin’s former home on Jan. 21 by a mortgage company employee charged with maintaining foreclosed properties.
Investigators later searched the home and found Fidlin’s personal belongings still there, though all the utilities had been turned off for several weeks and a pipe had burst causing extensive water damage.
The home was also filled with dog feces as if one or more dogs had been left unattended for an extended period of time, according to the complaint.
Investigators also found a partially empty bag of dog food in the laundry room and another on the stairs leading to the basement. However, neither bag was accessible to the dog as doors were closed leading to those areas. Both toilets inside the home were also closed, so there was no water source for the dog.
According to the complaint, four pet bowls were found side by side but all were empty. Investigators speculated that it’s possible the dog obtained water from the burst pipe for a period of time.
Veterinarians who examined the dog’s body said it showed signs of serious neglect over a period of many months based on the condition of its teeth and claws.
Meanwhile, an examination by the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that the dog’s fat reserves were entirely depleted, it was severely emaciated and it had likely frozen within a day or so of dying.
The lab found that it couldn’t conclude with certainty that a lack of food caused the dog’s emaciation, as other diseases could have the same result, though none were found present in the animal.
Fidlin later told investigators that she’d last visited the home a month ago and found her dog had died, according to the complaint. She said her other dog had run away in October and she hadn’t contacted any area shelters to find him.
She went on to say she’d still been feeding Lucky while living with her boyfriend and had last been there several days before she found his body.
She also said that she knew Lucky was sick, as he would always eat but didn’t gain weight, however, she could not afford veterinary care and let his condition deteriorate until he died.
One neighbor reported that Fidlin stopped making regular visits to the home in July 2013, while another said they had not seen any activity at the home since late fall, according to the complaint.
Fidlin is charged with felony animal abandonment resulting in death and five neglect-related misdemeanor charges. She faces up to 18 months in prison on the felony charge, and up to 90 days jail on each misdemeanor count.