Like there's just no reason to even lie. Just, you know, he doesn't have to lie in this particular situation, but he would lie and I would be like, what? Why? Like, I just didn't understand.

Hi, and welcome to the Animal Welfare Junction. This is your host, Dr. G. And our music is written and produced by Mike Sullivan. This is Season one State versus Stefan Baldwin. And this is episode six, the Con Whisperer. Now, this episode is probably the hardest, but to me the most important because we're going to go over all the victims of his actions, both the animals and the humans, and the organizations that he just conned to, to get his way. This episode, the, the next few episodes are gonna be somewhat triggering because we are going to be discussing animal abuse, animal cruelty, just the things that he did to these animals that did not observe the fates that they, that they ended up with. And then also things like domestic violence. And, you know, it's very important to understand that the Link is real, the Link between interpersonal violence and animal abuse. So we are going to be discussing both the animals and the human victims of his actions. If you need to take a break, if it's too triggering, take care of yourself. Just pause and come back. But in general, I feel that it is really important to share these stories because these are the stories. These are the heroes, right? These animals, these victims, these are the heroes that got him where he is imprisoned today.

My name is Blake Jordan and my wife and I founded the Miami Valley Pit Crew about, uh, 13 years ago. We basically take Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, actually any breed, but those are our two specialties out of kill shelters, um, and rehab them and find them homes. I'm a foster based organization and we mainly take medical cases, like severe medical cases, burns, gunshot wounds, stabs, heartworm cases. Those are, are, those are our specialties. So that's what we do a lot of. Okay. And we work with shelters all over the eastern, half the United States.

Let's start with Chesty's story. How did you come about knowing about Chesty?

Well, um, my wife and one of her friends with another rescue here, local, got an ask for help, um, to help feed some Great Danes that were part of a criminal case here in Dayton, Ohio. Um, they went down to ARC or the Animal Resource Center here, delivered a whole bunch of food and donations for those dogs. And one of the kennel staff took my wife back into the police hold area and showed them Chesty. From the story that I gathered, the Dayton Police went on a, I think it was domestic call. Um, and Chesty was basically sleeping under a bush outside of these folks' front door or by the porch of some sort. Um, got startled when Dayton PD nudged him to see if he was alive or not. Um, when he jumped up, um, the police officer shot him in the back, barely missed his spine, and shattered his shoulder blade. When he was taken to ARC, with him being a police case, they don't give any medical care. That is how we were approached to take him. That was September 28th, 2013. We took him once he was released to us, straight to our vet, our vet did a couple of surgeries, released him back to us, and we rehabbed him to the point where he was able to be placed in a foster home. I wanna say probably through mid-October, uh, maybe end of October, um, just as his gunshot wound was healing, um, all the bone fragments had been removed, all that fun stuff. Steffen had applied to Foster for us. Um, not knowing much about him at that point, 'cause he was still just a kid living in a beat, beat down, rundown house in, in Marysville at that point. Um, went to his home and do what we do. We did the home check. We did the background check. Um, everything seemed kosher at that point. Um, probably a month after that, I think it was the eighth, maybe the 7th of November, uh, 2020 or 2013. Um, he asked if he could adopt him. Absolutely. Uh, we let him adopt and it was all downhill from there.

So he was completely healed up by the time he was that you released him, right? Yeah. Because that's one of the things is like Steffen makes it sound like

absolutely not

helped with the rehabilitation and he was part of everything. Almost like he just railroaded you guys out of the story of Chesty.

He absolutely did. And that was where he started that, um, storyline after he adopted him. To help to get himself status. Um, and we argued and argued and argued and pleaded for years for him to stop doing that, um, because it wasn't the truth.

How did him adopting Chesty affect Chesty?

Well. My biggest problem that I had, um, when he started his bouncing around from shelter to shelter, um, in Northern Ohio at this point, was he was using Chesty basically to do behavioral tests on the dogs he was taking into his house. So he would take these, I won't say vicious dogs, but dogs who have had bite records and behavioral issues, and he would just dump them in the backyard with chesty and shut the door to see what happened. That's, that's how he did his evals. He used Chesty basically as bait.

It, it's kind of funny. As long as I

worked with with Steffen, I never met Chesty.

Really?

Yeah, so I never actually got to meet him. I saw him on pictures, I saw him on videos and that kind of stuff, but wonderful, as far as I know, I don't know that I ever did meet him in person.

Beautiful dog. Beautiful inside and out. Um, just the, the amount of love that Chesty had was just crazy. I can tell you that from day one. He was very manageable, even, even with the gunshot wound, even with the agony of the post-surgery. He just wanted to be loved. That's, that was it. That was his thing.

So how did, how did this whole thing unfold as far as once he took him and he started taking notoriety with him? I know that you guys kind of clashed about that. Absolutely. So how did that whole thing go on?

Um, it was several of us. Um. That basically tried to call him out, um, quite a bit saying, Hey, you know, that's not the story he's lying about how he rehabilitated Chesty. Um, he had nothing to do with that. He basically housed Chesty for a month, um, fed him and uh, then adopted him. And that was his involvement with Chesty's rehabilitation. And we called him out on that a lot. And every time that he would make a post on Facebook or try to do his YouTube thing that he was trying to get up, um, we would always go on there. 'cause e even, um, I, I forget, what was the girl's name out of New York? Who was, uh, working for the newspaper? Uh,

Katie Nelson, or, yep,

that's her. Um, he was attached to her pretty heavy, and she was, she was putting a lot of misinformation out on his behalf that I don't know if she knew about. Um, but every time she would post an article or post a video, we would always basically interact and say, Hey, that's not the story. That's not how that happened. We, we, as a rescue fundraised for him, paid for the surgery. All Steffen did was feed the dog. Um, and every time we did that, we'd get push back and threats.

How, how bad did the threats get?

Um, the threats got to a certain point, uh, I'd say about two years into it. Where, um, he sicked Gordon Shell on myself, my organization, and my wife. Um. Physical threats, verbal threats, basically telling us what huge pieces of shit we are and we're liars, and if we do, if we keep it up, he would hunt us down and, and, and basically kick our asses. I, I openly invited him several times to come to my home. He never showed.

That doesn't surprise me. 'cause I think that a lot of it is just talk. Right. Just like the same way that they pump themselves up about the, what they do for the dogs. Right. Right. No talk and no actual action.

Zero action. None. Um, they were, I can tell you that the three of them, Luke included, were all about the press. Um, all about getting their pictures out, all about building themselves up. And we can see where two of those three are right now.

It's an update to a story. K Fox 14 investigates first uncovered in 2019, the former director of the El Paso Humane Society admitted to charges of fraud and theft in Ohio. K. Fox 14 Investigative reporter Estefania Seyffert takes us back to how this story unraveled and what happens next. The last time we spoke with Westerman, he denied all allegations made against him. I haven't had any person ever ask me anything or question my, my honor and my integrity. December 27th, 2018, Luke Westerman, who was the executive director of the Humane Society of El Paso at the time was indicted with charges of theft and securities violations. Accused of ripping off some Ohio citizens of about $700,000 over eight years. A week later on January 7th, 2019, he turned himself in and was booked into an Ohio jail. He was fired from the Humane Society in El Paso The next day. The Humane Society announced a new Chief Executive Officer, Deb Benedict. That same year in October, our sister station WKEF in Dayton, Ohio, reported Westerman was indicted in a second case, which included securities fraud, misrepresentation, and theft from additional victims. Last week, Westerman pleaded guilty to all 19 charges filed against him in Ohio. Prosecutors said he solicited at least 19 Ohioans to invest over $1 million into companies owned or controlled by him, and used the money on personal expenses unrelated to the businesses.

So did you guys try to get chesty back at some point?

We, we tried a lot, um, through the years, um, through the police departments, through, um, we actually had some lawyer contact back and forth. Um, and when everything started going down with act falling apart and the Ohio, the charges here in Ohio starting to build up against him, when he moved to California, we actually got the authorities involved out there as well.

You did not get him back until he got arrested, is that correct?

Correct. Um, we worked, uh. Not closely, but we worked in tandem with the detectives here in Ohio, um, who put us in contact with his girlfriend that he was, had his rehabilitation ranch with out in, out in the desert out in California, um, to get Chesty back. Um, when we were approached and finally got some information out of the girlfriend and the police department, uh, we found out that he had, uh, basically dogs living in shacks out in the desert. And Chesty was one of those dogs, and I believe at that point he was probably 12 or 13 years old.

And I know that, you know, there's a, there's a jail call from him to his girlfriend. And when, you know, while he was in jail and she's just telling her how chesty doesn't react to her and doesn't care about her or, or whatever, like, it sounds like the, there was just no relationship there.

That's kind of what I understand as well, and I can tell you, um, that the interaction that I was told about from my volunteer who we flew out to California to pick up Chesty, um. From what I understand, he was very happy to see her and he hadn't interacted with her at all up until that point. So I'm not sure what the relationship was between Steffen, Steffen's girlfriend and Chesty, but I can tell you that when the dog got back here, um, he remembered me from all those years and he was very happy to see myself and my wife.

And how was, how was that reunion? Because like it had been how many years about

It had been like, what I think eight years, nine years at that point.

Eight years, yeah.

So it was, it was beautiful. Um, I was more intrigued by the trip home and all the things that he got to see and experience. So that was, that was the highlight for me. Um, he actually is currently living in retirement with that volunteer and is just, couldn't be happier for him or her,

He's just one of the lucky ones, right? Absolutely. 'cause he actually made it alive.

Absolutely. Um, tho that is a, that's a hard number to hit for, for any dogs in that came outta that situation with him. So the fact that he was able to make it outta there alive, not get mauled with all of the bullshit that he was put through is just amazing.

People that I have been talking to have been sharing how this, these. Experiences have changed the way that they do rescue or they see rescue. How has he affected the way that you guys do your thing?

We're a little more diligent, but it's so far in the past now that whatever we did to adopt, to adapt to it is just part of our daily now. So it's not really something that we, we try not to dwell on too much anymore, but we, we definitely don't forget. Our, our biggest thing for the past several years as this was going on, we, we stayed pretty low key about it, but our biggest goal and biggest openness was getting Chesty back to us. And that was, I, that was our major concern and that was the out outlook, the outcome that we wanted and we're happy that, that it happened. So we were very fortunate.

And I'm super excited that, that he was able to, again, he, that he made it and that you guys got him back. Because it's amazing. He's, he's a good guy and he deserves a good life.

Absolutely. And he's living it, so.

Next is the story of Romeo, and Romeo is a dog that he took in for both medical and behavioral issues, and he just did not do right by him.

He had set Romeo up saying that he had a cancer spread throughout his body and had to euthanize him when Romeo did not have cancer spread throughout his body. He just had a simple tumor, uh, low grade that wasn't going to spread, that all it needed to do was be removed. That was it. Uh, but he claimed he had it throughout his whole body and had to euthanize, um, uh, Romeo. So that's, that's, you know, how it would've in depth, you know, liar he was, is he, and he is smart too. I'll give him that. He's a very smart individual. Um, he would set these things, things up months ahead of time, you know, so people who, you know, aren't thinking like these things are the, they're not gonna figure that out. You know, he's been upfront with him about this cancer for months.

Would you state your name for the record? Alex.

Alex Armley. I took Romeo in from a coworker. I had him for a total about six months. And he lived with me as a dog of my own. He had a, well, I was told a cyst on his leg. He had severe allergies to the food he was on. He had never been to a vet before. He never had any shots, he lived in a crate most of his life. He wasn't really let out much. I waited about two days after I got him. So I would say probably March 3rd, 2014, and I took him to Rascal Animal Unit. I went there 'cause I knew he needed shots and they would be cheaper there just to get started, his initial assessment.

So Alex brought him in to Rascal Animal Hospital. We did his vaccines, we did an evaluation, and you know, a lot of people throw around the word cyst, like every, every mass or tumor is a cyst and that's normally a misnomer. So the way to identify what was going on was we did a fine needle aspirate in which we put a small needle into the mass, took some cells, and then identified what the cells were about. And the results of that were that it was a mast cell tumor. Now. The, the problems with a fine needle aspirate is that it doesn't tell you what grade. It just tells you what cells are in there. However, it's a really good place to start, especially by letting the owner know that it's not just a cyst, it's not a benign process. It can potentially be a problem that needs to be addressed.

They took a sample of his, the tumor on his leg to send, to get lab work done, to confirm it was a cyst, like I was told, which it was not as well as an allergy test. He was severely allergic to the food he was on. I would say maybe about a week and a half after we went to Rascal, so maybe like mid-March 2014. Dr. Bader, She was the vet that myself and all of my friends were very close with. We all took our pets to her, so I took her, I took Romeo to her as well.

I am Cheryl Bater and I'm a doctor of veterinary medicine. I see small animals in general practice.

One thing that I have to say about Dr. Bater is she has been doing this for a really long time and she is so thorough. She is an amazing veterinarian. And I am really happy that that's where Romeo went. Uh, Alex already had a relationship with her, so it makes sense that she would go there for follow-up care. But in the, in the end, in the trial, it was very helpful because Dr. Bader was able to participate as, as an expert witness, but also as somebody who had firsthand knowledge of Romeo.

Romeo was a patient of mine, and, uh, Alex Armley, his owner, brought him to me for examination for a mass that he had on him, so he was a patient of mine. So he had, uh, a lump on his, uh, right rear leg that she wanted me to evaluate. Apparently he had been, um, had this and she wanted my opinion 'cause she knew me from her other dog.

I believe a cell mast tumor is what I was told. A low grade. Um, I believe x-rays were also done on his chest to confirm it was not metastatic and it has not spread.

A Mast cell tumor. Mast cells are normally in the body, respond in the case of, they're part of the immune system response. So a, a tumor that arises from a mast cell, um, has characteristics of that that are exaggerated. So a mast cell tumor arises from abnormal mast cells. At the time I saw him, it was, uh, pendulous, like it was on a pedicle almost. So it looked like it sort of was hanging, it was about the size of a lemon perhaps. Um, I would say it was five to five centimeters. So what I presented to Alex, which I present to all my clients, is a, um, there's a spectrum that we can offer whenever we have a tumor. And this was newly, he was newly adopted, uh, at that time too, is kind of the good, better, best. So these are our options. And I said the first thing we wanna do, all we had was a fine needle aspirate. And a fine needle aspirate gives us an idea of, of what, what family of tumors it's in, but not what the grade is of the tumor. So I offered her estimates for diagnostics to assess him, uh, to see is there any evidence that it's spread anywhere and what's his general health if we're gonna consider surgery to remove that tumor. He also needed to be neutered. She wanted to think about it, but she came back, um, and decided that she wanted to do those diagnostics and came back. May 15th. May six. Yeah. She came back for, uh, to do the diagnostics and that's where we did pre-anesthesia diagnostics to look at his health. She elected to start with that, to see where we were. 'cause if we already had evidence of metastasis from what was potentially a malignant tumor, then she wasn't gonna proceed. But there was no evidence of spread at all anywhere. So I thought he was a really, really good candidate to, for it to be, uh, low grade or, and to be able to successfully take it off and be done with it.

He was four years old when I got him. Um, extremely loving. You could tell he hadn't really been loved much before. So when I gave him a little bit of attention, it went a long way. Um, he got very attached to me and very clingy, which I think is what resulted in him and my dog not getting along down the road.

In addition to having that mass, Romeo also was not neutered, and that presented a problem because dogs that are not neutered tend to be more aggressive, have more behavioral issues, and Alex had another dog, and the two of them were having issues probably because of Romeo's dominance and then her other dog had already established that that was his home. So not only was the cost of surgery a concern for her, but in the long term, having two dogs that were not gonna get along with each other and could potentially hurt each other.

I started asking around if anyone knew of shelters or someone that could help me take him. Um, I posted on a couple animal pages, um, and then I was directed to ACT Ohio. I was hoping to get him medical treatment as well as someone to just give him a new home.

She had taken him in from a friend who couldn't take care of him anymore. Um, there was some aggression issues between Romeo and her dog. And Romeo had a large lump on his leg that she wasn't able to really care for and was looking for rescue for him. I had asked Steffen if we could help rehab the dog and try to figure out what was going on with his leg, and he was just gonna take the dog in, try to rehab him and find him new home and see what we could do about vet care.

I told him about how I got him, about the dogs fighting after that last month or so. Um, his health, me going to the vets and getting information as to what was going on with his health and just what I had hoped for for him. I couldn't afford having it done at the time, and also the, the fighting between the two. He said he could get him the surgeries he needed and help him with his aggression and other dog being around other dogs and find him another home. I don't know who told me, but I believe one of them told me that everything was essentially pro bono because of their organization with Rascal and the vet. And they just took him and they could do it for free.

It is really funny that he told her that the service would be for free because it goes along to imply that he didn't really have any interest in paying us back, just running up a bill that he thought he could just write off.

I felt very confident that he could help him. He was very positive and seemed excited to help him. And hopeful.

Did you sign any kind of transfer papers, any documents?

No, I did not. I believe he was still my dog. Um, he was just helping find him another home.

I think in the beginning it was more of a concern with the training and just making sure that he could be placed. Before it was a medical thing. We were completely unaware it was cancer.

As far as I know, he took him about two days later to have the surgery done, um, which was successful, neutering him and removing the tumor. And then from then on, I, I believed that he was cancer free and he was healthy and good to go. I was told that it was not a metastatic tumor and that it would not spread and if they removed it, he would be fine.

To the best of your knowledge, where did Romeo's surgery take

place? As far as I know it took place at Rascal.

And what's the message?

Tumor and testicles are gone. That's the next day. My baby? I have tears again. I'm so happy for him to finally get the tumor taken care of. I wish I could be there to comfort him. Let me know about the additional tumors they found and kiss him for me. Thank you so much. He looks great. How is his leg healing? You bet he's a champ. Wasn't even limping the morning after. He's at Rascal until Monday. Awesome. That makes me happy to hear.

Now remember he just told Alex that we did the surgery at Rascal Animal Hospital. So keep that in mind.

Doctor. Uh, good afternoon. Would you state your name for the record?

Amy Lynn Welker.

And doctor, are you employed?

Um, I'm no longer employed with Union County Humane Society, but I was just recently up till October 2023? He was a pit bull type, male, blue color, and five-ish years old. I neutered him that day and removed a tumor, actually two tumors as it turned out, and, um, sent them for a biopsy. I sent both, at least parts of both in to be evaluated by the pathologist at IDEXX lab. They were Mast cell tumors, and it had a mitotic index which evaluated basically the prognosis. I believe he went home as soon as he was awake enough to go home.

So you got that, right? So he tells Alex that we did the surgery at Rascal Animal Hospital, which is not true. It is absolutely not true. Dr. Welker at the Union County Humane Society did the surgery. She removed the mass that Alex was concerned about. She found another mass. She removed that and she neutered him. And then what he did was after surgery, he brought him over to Rascal Animal Hospital for hospitalization, but really more for boarding. And he was there for about four to five days, which was not really necessary. Right. Most animals, most patients are released to their owner, and the owner takes him home. So at that time, I did not think about why he needed to hospitalize or board him. Now, hindsight is 2020. He just wanted somewhere to just shove that dog for several days until he could figure out what to do with him, especially since he was dog aggressive.

Grade one is like getting an A on a test. Yay. This is the, the best we can have and the best idea. Um, so if it's a, a low grade, uh, many of the oncologists now will say, no, no additional treatment needed. Just observe it and if it comes back, or you can go back and take a wider margin if you want a little extra. But for most dogs, if it's a low grade, no additional therapies needed. So, uh, the clinical assessment at the bottom, the pathologist, uh, stated that based on what the pathologist said, it was expected to have a very, very low risk, um, of shortening his life at all, uh, in a very low risk of metastasis or spread to otherwise parts of his body. Um, and once you have that grade. And the behavior, and then knowing what I knew about seeing Romeo then is highly improbable that, that that low grade tumor would have become aggressive. They don't become grade threes. A grade one isn't going to become a grade three. Um. So it was highly improbable that there was dissemination of that tumor in his body that would cause him to be premature to prematurely die for any reason.

I think he checked in with me here and there to send updates, but overall, it was about two weeks later when I got notified that he had been put to sleep.

I was home. Um, right afterwards that Romeo had cancer and was put down. I was confused how a dog could be put down from cancer that quickly because, in my experience, pathology and biopsies take a long time to come back. They're just, they're not done within 24 hours. Are you aware, Jennifer, how Alex Armley found out about Romeo? Uh, I sent her a text message or a Facebook message. Not word for word, but I had just explained her that, um, Romeo had to be euthanized due to cancer.

They took him for a follow up and there had been cancer that spread through his whole body, so aggressively radiation and nothing else would help, so they put him down before he felt any pain and suffered. I was at lunch for my birthday with the guy I was dating at the time. I was hysterical and we had to leave lunch.

Would you read into the record what you wrote about Romeo?

Today sucks. I'll love you forever. Romeo, rest peacefully sweet boy. So this is where we part my friend, and you'll run on around the bend, gone from sight, not from mind. New pleasures there. You'll surely find. Your place I hold, but you'll be missed. The first stroke to the nose I kissed. And as you journey to your final rest, take with you this, I love you best.

So he picks up Romeo from us on August 12th. The dog is doing fine, right? It has had his medications, pain, pain control and all of that stuff, and he takes him. We didn't do the surgery. We did not send the biopsy, so we didn't have that information. So then fast forward to the 28th, he sends a text saying that Romeo's information came back and that the tumor has spread and that it's really malignant and really aggressive, and that, you know, dog's gonna suffer. And with him being dog aggressive, it's not fair to keep him in a crate. And basically saying that, you know, quality of life is poor and he needs to euthanize him. However, this was all a lie because he never received anything from any veterinarian saying that the cancer had spread, that he had metastasis, and actually the. The pathology on the mass came back as a grade one mast cell tumor, which is the lowest grade, and they usually have an excellent prognosis.

There, there was no documentation of any veterinarian that said, Hey, this, this dog looks like we have a spread of cancer. Uh, there was no veterinary assessment that said, um, somebody, there must be another cancer somewhere. Somebody threw us a zinger. There was nothing that indicated that a veterinarian assessed him to have metastatic cancer anywhere.

So what was your conclusion with respect to the euthanization decision of Romeo?

I think it was tragic. It was, it was, it was tragic. It was sad. It was heartbreaking. Literally when I read it, I was like, it tightened my chest. I'm like, it was a grade one tumor. It, it was unnecessary and tragic, in my opinion.

This case is one that is really upsetting because whenever a pet owner brings you their, their dog or cat or rabbit or what may be, and tells you, you know, this is the medical history, this is the story. This is what has happened, and this is my pet's quality of life. That's sometimes that's all the information that you have and you have to make a decision based on that. And at that point we had just. Started working with him. So he comes in and spins this story about how the dog had cancer. We knew that it was a mast cell tumor, so that part made sense. But he spins how the dog had this horrible cancer and it has metastasized, and the dog has a poor quality of life. So the best thing for the dog at that point would've been euthanasia if that was true, but unfortunately it wasn't. And like Dr. Bader said, it was just unnecessary and it was tragic. One of the dogs that he had for a long time and he made a ton of publicity out of, was Belle Belle the Bait Dog. And it's, it's amazing how he turned he, her story and he took advantage of her issues. To then create publicity and fundraise and even make a book about the hotdog man.

My name's Ed Jameson. Um, at the time I was the Chief Animal Control Officer for the city of Cleveland, Ohio's Animal Care and Control.

How you came to get possession of Belle? Like what was her backstory?

It was an injured, injured stray call. Um, and the dog had major, major medical, um, particularly in the face. It definitely had been in some type of a, of a fight and had got the, not the good end of the, of the fight. And so we rushed the dog to emergency vet care, which, um, we were able to get that. And then we had very little isolation areas in that, in that old kennel in Cleveland, which is no longer in use. But, um, she was in that room, the one room we were able to isolate and just had all kinds of stents and stitches and things like that. Um, and was really sweet to humans. Need to say in that situation, it was a very noisy, chaotic shelter. It appeared to us that she had animal aggression, but we also couldn't do any real, she couldn't do playgroups 'cause of her medical condition, but any dog walked by the cage and she, she totally lost her mind. So, um, reached out to Mr. Baldwin. Um, 'cause 'cause other than that, she was a, she was a great dog.

So we got the call from the Cleveland Animal Control. Um, they, we were the only group that they trusted to take this dog because of her dog issues, because of her fear and what she had gone through.

Is there any truth to that?

I didn't know him to know how much I could or couldn't. I knew that he at least had, um, said that, you know, and had some success, especially with bully breeds. Um, being able to, to get them in, you know, there, there's. I didn't know him well enough to say that he was the only person there. There's very few people that actually can responsibly take, you know, animals in that condition to begin with, but he was one who had shown some type some success, so.

Bell came to us from Cleveland. I got a call from the dog warden up in Cleveland, the chief dog warden. And, uh, they had found her, uh, through part of an investigation where they're looking at dog fighting organizations. And, uh, she is what you typically know as a bait dog.

So did any of your staff say that they instructed Stefan that Bell had been from a dog fighting case or an investigation or anything that would've left him to start doing all that advertising for her?

No, maybe, maybe that, Hey, we are looking into it. She, again, it was obvious she got her butt kicked by a most likely dog, um, in the city of Cleveland, but there was zero evidence of anything organized, like literally zero evidence of that. So we, we never talked like that internally without there actually being some type of facts to back it up. Is it a true statement to say that Bell probably was in a dog fight? True. Is it true to say there's any evidence that it was an organized dog fight and anything different than just two loose dogs in the streets of Cleveland tussling with each other? Nothing. Nothing more than that. And they said you, you knew Bell, she was spicy around other animals. There was no question about that. The sweetest thing with humans.

My experience with Belle was, uh, as you say, she was super sweet with people, but she would see another dog and she would just go crazy, and she was so small that she picked fights that she could not, you know, hold, hold her into, I, I compare her to a chihuahua right there. Yeah. Like the angry chihuahua that sees another dog. And it doesn't matter how big the dog is, it wants to go after it, but it's gonna lose because it's just not big enough.

That was very inappropriate and that that was something, I mean I saw that, um, I, if I'm not mistaken, I think I was out on the road when he actually came in. So my team actually released the dog to him and before I even made it back to the kennel, I saw some notification pop up on my phone and he was like, Facebook liveing it only a couple minutes out of being outta the shelter. I remember thinking, and this is great for this dog, but yeah, if there is actually anybody. That, that there is something nefarious going on and they see this, it just drives 'em underground. You, you literally will lose the case, right, right then and there. Um, again, that anybody knows anything about investigations, forget about even sensationalizing of it. Hey, I understand how fundraising works. There'll be a time and a place you could fundraise not six or seven minutes after leaving the shelter, when I told you that we're, we are looking into it. So had there been a case that would've absolutely harmed, um, harmed the case.

And, uh, she is what you typically know as a bait dog. She was bred smaller and used specifically for fighting dogs to practice on. Her teeth have been filed down straight across, so she can't fight back.

Yeah. And that's, um, there's a lot of people who say that that is very catchy. And so we will see well-intended advocates who don't really know, oh, this dog's gonna be used as a bait dog. Mul, multiple things. Um, dogs, the one that have microchips are not eye candidates for that. In my experience, they are, um, they're actually dogs who don't have any chance of winning at all. And so even so, pit bull, bully types are not even, um, necessarily that thing. They, they, they want dogs. They have dogs that are for sure gonna lose for, so they're fighting dogs. One don't get injured in it. Um, and it just sounds so sensational when people say that, yes, this dog was used as bait.

Yeah. In my experience, usually when we see bait animals, it's going to be like really small dogs, or it's gonna be cats, or it's gonna be wildlife. And they're used really more to drive that prey sense. Right. Instead of actually fighting. Because one of the things that Jeanette mentioned was the fact that, you know, like Belle, yeah, she's smaller, but she can still cause injury and you don't want a high price pit bull to get injured during, during a training session.

Exactly. E Exactly. So yeah, that's, I hear that all the time with people saying that from animals leaving the shelter, particularly bully types. And it's just like, yeah, that's not your, and most shelters are able to have animals fixed now before they leave too. So again, they're not, they're not trying to take altered animals. Yeah. Bell was not what I would've said. If, if, you know, if there was an organized thing that would be a of a bait dog that this, that this doesn't add up.

I mean, you can't really tell from now. I mean, you can see the scars of course, but her jaw was falling apart. They had to do reconstructive surgery to put it back together. She was emaciated. She was. You know, she was basically left for dead almost. So,

and that's kind of where your relationships come in. I know you work with Rascal Animal Hospital, obviously, and other groups that kind of help you when you have a case like this.

Correct? Yes. So we got the call from the Cleveland Animal Control. Um, they, we were the only group that they trusted to take this dog because of her dog issues, because of her fear and what she had gone through. So we picked her up, we drove her down to Rascal Animal Hospital here in Dublin. Uh, and Dr. G took great care of her physically. So, and that's our partnership with Rascal, that they heal the, the, the body and we heal the mind basically. And then we have a whole dog.

How far was she into her healing process when you released her to Stefan because when I saw her, she was, she looked really good. Like the, the treatments that she had received and the drains and all of that stuff. She was looking really, really good. But he makes it sound like, you know, he took her while she was still all ripped up and that we did a lot of the repair. When in reality all I did was the recheck.

If I'm not mistaken, she had been with us for a couple weeks between she, when she went to the emergency vet care and then ultimately came back. And that's why we knew, trying to look, man, this is gonna be hard to find anybody who'll take this dog one. Um, yes, it has all this medical that is healing up, but then two, obviously, um, the, the, the dog aggression component of it. But I am, I think we had her for a couple weeks and we were really, really happy with the work that was as wet Park, west Park Animal Hospital was. So we had the contract with, at least when I was the chief there, and they, they had put all of those drains and stitches and things like that. And so she was on her way to heal medically, um, when she left. 'cause I remember telling him that, I said, I'm not a vet. But other than some rechecks, hopefully everything, unless something gets infected, hopefully the medical component, that wasn't the main reason I was reaching out for rescue. I was reaching out because of the behavior component.

I remember, uh, and I have a picture, examining her when he first got her. And actually there is also a picture of him driving with her after he picked her up. And in that picture, I mean, it's like completely different dog compared to the pictures with all the drains and all the injuries. So, you know, a little bit also, he was trying to fundraise based on, she's a bait dog and everything else, but also trying to lead people to believe that he needed to fundraise for her medical care, which you guys had already taken care of.

I, I just think it's tough. Um, animal welfare. It, it goes through its different iterations and we're in a really tough time right now. Um, the, the painting sad stories, I totally understand that, that that can generate donations. It doesn't necessarily do the best for our cause, especially shelter animals that the general public who doesn't live lives like we do and think about animals all day long, it makes 'em think that all of our animals are broken. Um, and I, I, I am fortunate enough to be the CEO of an organization called Operation Kindness. Now we stay positive, we do forensics work for the city of Dallas, um, and, and other, um, um, entities throughout North Texas. And we still try to remain positive as opposed to going to the negative. Um, yes, you can generate some dollars on that, but the long term, if we're really trying to get the public to be more involved, most people don't want to be involved with something sad. They would much rather be involved with something that's got positive to it. It's still, I remember thinking, why are we painting a story that we just don't know what's true as opposed to, Hey, I'm trying to help this dog that obviously went through something rough. Has shown a bunch of good qualities around human beings. Like I, I thought that that dog could have been marketed that way as opposed to getting, I mean, they could think you named the bell the bait dog before it was outside the city of Cleveland Limits. And that, that was disappointing to me.

Over time we realized that Belle was a really sweet dog with people, but Belle was an asshole with other dogs, and she would see other dogs and she would go, like, she would lose her voice because she was growling and, and barking so hard at these other dogs. So Bell is one of those dogs that he had that had multiple fights in his house, I believe, uh, that at one point even a neighbor hit her in the head with a shovel because she got out and she was, she was being aggressive. So, I mean, the Belle to me is one of the biggest examples of how he took a narrative and took this poor dog and used her to, to make fame and make money.

Yes, you are correct. Um, all of that you have pretty good understanding of, uh, bell was the, the Face of Act Ohio and what he, he used as the Face of Act Ohio. And this, this bell story was part of the all-encompassing telecommunications charge. You know, we did. You know, a telecom communications charge for each of the dead dogs that he had posted as adopted. Then we did the all one encompassing charge for all these other stories, you know, uh, about other dogs that didn't necessarily die, um, but we're fraudulent stories. The Bell story is a complete fraud. It's all a lie. And it started from the very beginning. He, he made Act Ohio based on Belle the bait dog, and as you said, wrote a book, which you wrote a very glowing comment about,

allegedly

in Amazon. No, you did. It was Dr. G and you were, had a glowing review of it, which we know you didn't do, but he he did it.

Yep. Um,

he wrote the review for you, but, um, it was all a lie it's, you're right. She was not a bait dog, never was. We know the whole story. But he created this whole, he wrote a book about her Belle, the Bait dog, you know, um, it was all a lie. There was nothing true to it. And then Belle was the number one fighter in that house. She, I documented 13 different fights that she started. She attacked other dogs. You mentioned the shovel one where, where she escaped the house, went over and attacked the neighbor's dog. The neighbor hit her in the head and, and split her head open with the shovel. Um, and she was rushed to the hospital. Baldwin happened to be getting Amanda Walton. That was when he was moving. So he wasn't home. He was getting, picking her up with the U-Haul. That Act Ohio paid for this whole entire trip to move her back to Act Ohio, to live with him, to be on his TV show and Bell. That's when Bell got loose and, and, and was hospitalized. Belle was the number one fighter. I documented 13 fights Belle was in and she started all of 'em, or most of them.

​Peewee came from a hoarding case in Union County. And he had called us and said that he had this warrant and he was going to go in and they were taking all these animals out of this hoarding facility or this house that was a hoarding place. And Peewee was one of the many dogs that came from there. And I actually have pictures of my staff with Peewee, and he came in that they were cleaning him up because all of these dogs were a mess. Like they were matted, they were covered in like caked in urine and feces and stuff. Um, but realistically, Peewee was old. Uh, he was a senior guy, but nothing really significant with him But then he sends him out to foster, and Peewee ended up being victim of Steffen's shenanigans.

In, uh, January of two 15, I think it was the 25th of January, uh, Peewee was part of a, a hoarding case. So many animals, like maybe a dozen or so that, that were removed from a house, uh, by Baldwin.

We received a, um, a tip or a call, um, basically saying that there was an injured beagle, that the owner was refusing medical treatment. When we first went out there, Steffen and I went on that call together, um, and we met with Mr. Martin and, um, he brought out one dog to us. But it was not the dog that fit the description that we were looking for. Uh, he refused to let us inside the house. He, he did walk us out back to where two dogs were chained up, and then we, we knew right then that, um, he wasn't being truthful. So we just documented what we saw and what we heard that day, and then we went back. I took the information that I gathered from that, um, when we were there and I went back to the person that originally filed the complaint and showed her pictures of the dogs that we witnessed that day and confirmed if that was the, one of the dogs that she was talking about. And she said no. And so then we, um, moved forward with obtaining a search warrant. Steffen and I with the sheriff, um, went back to the house and, um, when we went in,

do you need, do you need a minute?

There were dogs. There was one dog chained to a bed in horrible conditions. Um, flea infested, covered in urine. Probably three inch nails, um, chained to a hospital bed covered in feces. Um, across the room, in the same room across was a dog chained to a wall. In the kitchen, there was a made shift crate or fence that you would see outside with straw and a dog laying there covered in feces, matted. There were 24.

Who were the two dogs that were chained outside?

Um, Peewee was one of 'em. And King was the other. I don't remember the complete conversation with Rick. Um, but the Martin case was a little bit different because, um, they, they, they did something, uh, it's called, um, owner surrender in lieu of charges. Mm-hmm. Um, and that was, um, an agreement that Steffen had, so when we removed all of the animals to Rascal, Steffen stayed back and Steffen talked with Mr. Martin. He built, um, um, more of an understanding of the, the bigger picture and the more of the situation. And later there was a later conversation between me and Steffen and Steffen what Steffen's recommendation where he thought would be most impactful for this situation. And he, um. Um, proposed the, um, owner surrender in lieu of charges, um, instead of moving forward. We transported all of the animals to animal, um, Rascal Animal Hospital in Dublin. Pee Wee was a senior dog that was, um, chained up outside with no access to food or water. His body condition, I would say was probably fair. Um, he was matted. Um, and a, he had some, um, health conditions that were being treated at Rascal.

So at one point when Stephanie is at Rascal Animal Hospital, bringing in the dogs, taking care of the dogs, she realizes that the people that got the dogs taken away from them, they were outside and they have been threatening her, I believe, online, but she thought that they were outside. So I texted Steffen and I said, Hey, um, Stephanie thinks that they're here and she's afraid to go outside. And he just blows it off, like literal words. It's like, tell her to put on her big boy pants and just deal with it. And that's how, that's not how that works, right? You have to protect your staff and your people, right? Like you don't know how these people are going to react. You just took their animals like they could be volatile, so completely inappropriate.

I know that Peewee came to, uh, Rascal Animal Hospital. He had, I think a heart murmur or something like that. He was deemed to be eight years old. Um, and within a week he went to a, a woman, uh, a foster named Theresa Balsiger

I'm Theresa Balsiger and I was PeeWee's Foster. And we got Peewee because, um, the humane agent, Stephanie VanBrimmer, who worked with Steffen, advertised on their Facebook page that they needed, um, fosters for these, this humane case in Marysville. So we got in touch with Stephanie and decided to foster Peewee. So we just went down to Rascal and they brought him out to us and we brought him back here and that's how it all started.

So what was your, what was your impression of Peewee when you got him?

He was, uh, a goof. Like he just had that face that you just wanted to pet. You know, he just, he seemed very sad, but he, he was interested in things. So when we like brought him home, we had a chihuahua, Phyllis and Phyllis fell in love with Peewee, and I don't know if it was because of the hair, but he would, if he was outside laying, then she would get up and like kind of knit his back like a cat does, and then curl around and then lay there with Peewee. So they hung out a lot. Peewee and Phyllis were buddies. So usually wherever he was, she would follow him and they fo they would go all around the yard. But to me he just seemed like he was a senior dog, but on the young side of senior who was still interested in learning about life, if that makes sense. He just didn't have, sometimes he showed little puppy characteristics when he would gallop around the yard and we're like, oh, he's finally feeling like he can run, you know, or do something. Um, so yeah, we, we kind of, we, we said we'd keep him for as long as he needed to be kept. 'cause I didn't think he would ever get adopted.

And how long did you have him?

We had him, I wanna say close to five months.

Uh, so on February 1st, he was with her. And, uh, and had been with her, uh, and he was like a really sweet dog. He wasn't, wasn't a Pit Bull or it was just not a typical dog that Baldwin dealt with. It was just this very sweet, gentle, I'm not sure what type of dog it was, but so it did really well at her house. And, um, she said it was like coming back to life and, and the light was back in his eyes and he was enjoying life. And, and in, uh, may they took him, well, first she took him to her own vet in April. Uh, and then in May, her, it was her son or her daughter at Ohio State had some sort of, uh, uh, a thing with animals like out in the corridor, one of the main parts of campus. And, um, you know, peewee, they, they, you know, Theresa said that he was in the height of his glory. He was so happy and, and loving life and, and he just was a completely changed and different dog. And then, uh, a month later in, uh, June, um, Baldwin has another dog named Coco. And, uh, Balsiger's would have to go out of town and they have a, a bigger dog. So they asked Baldwin to watch this bigger dog as they went out of town. And, and he agreed to.

Coco came from Franklin County Animal Shelter and we've had Coco, I think since 20, well, at Peewee went in 2015, so that's how long we've had Coco. So we've had him 10 years and he, and. It, it, I, I really, every time I think about it, I go, I could just throw up because of, of what happened with Remy. But we had went on vacation and we're gone for two weeks and we have a dog, Kozar We took him everywhere and he was, part Newfoundland and part Rottweiler. He developed this fear type aggression, so we, I couldn't have a regular pet sitter come for fear that they would get bit, so I had asked Steffen to watch Kozar, and he did for two weeks. He watched Kozar and I'm think, man, I'm so glad nothing happened to that dog.

So when they came back, Baldwin says, Hey, you know, uh, you know, your dog and our dog, Coco. Well, the dog he was talking about, uh, you know, hit it off and they're, they're wonderful, they're great, and he'd be great to foster at your house. You know, Coco, well, Coco was a, a another problem dog. And, um, this was just him getting rid of a problem dog for whatever reason.

He brought Coco over to our house. They just did. I mean, they took off and did great. So I said, I will bring Coco in, and then he was gonna take Peewee and I said, he's so good. I said, there's, he's so easy. He just wants to, you know, relax. He slept. Stretched out. He was not on a chain anymore, so he just kind of meandered. And then every now and then he would get this gallop going. And we always said he looked like a goat out there frolicking in the yard. So he said, okay. So we kept Coco continued to foster him, probably thinking in our minds we would adopt him. And then we sent Peewee with Steffen who he said, oh he'll just, you know, live his quiet life, uh, you know, being out in the backyard and in the house and doing his thing. And I said, oh, said that works for me. So then we brought Cocoa in and then that's how Steffen got Peewee back.

Now, she didn't ask him to take Peewee back, he just took Peewee back. And, um, that was like on a Saturday evening. And then, um, Monday morning, uh, he messaged you that he needed to bring in a dog, uh, that was, uh, needed to be euthanized and, uh, that was Peewee. And Peewee, he said Peewee was 14 years old and had neurological condition and problems, and his quality of life was poor and that he needed, you know, to be euthanized due to, you know, all of those issues that he's having. So, you know, he brought him in. It was like 40 hours later from when he took Peewee, and, and the day in between was Sunday. So, you know, we know he didn't take Peewee anywhere. So he had Peewee euthanized at your place on that Monday morning or noon right around there. And, um, yeah, this was one of the tougher stories for me because I remember, when I had read this and found out that Peewee had been euthanized, I couldn't sleep that night. It was like one in the morning when I saw the story. Um, and it just really bothered me. 'cause when I had talked to Theresa Balsiger she was one that did not know that that that Baldwin had euthanized Peewee, uh, she, you know, through messages, tried to contact him about, uh, Peewee after Baldwin took her back, and always asked about Peewee.

How's Peewee doing? Oh, he is doing great. How's Peewee doing? Great. He kept that whole time, he kept saying, he's doing fine, he's doing fine. He's out sleeping under my kayaks. You know, he would give me. I mean, where he slept most of the day. He had a good dinner, you know this. So it was stuff that he made up Can you come over here? 'cause Coco's was bad. He was horrible dog. He would, I mean, he wasn't aggressive, but he would run and, and chase and, um, when you would come in the, like into the, the backyard from the garage, he would run at you and jump like lung at you. And he knocked me over several times because he's just so excited you're home and want to give you that attention. So I said, can you come over here and help me figure out how to get him to stop doing this? Um, well I can't because I've got my son. I can't because I'm this, I can't because, and I said, well, if you don't come over here and help me, I said, then I'm going to get, you're gonna take this dog back. He now, he is so good mannered. He doesn't jump on anybody. He's still ex exceptionally excited and happy when anybody comes to see him. So I mean, it just, but I thought you adopt out these dogs that are very strong and muscular and then you just walk away. You don't give any extra help with. How can I fix this problem? And then, and if I wouldn't have stuck with it and he would've went back to Steffen's I wholeheartedly believe Coco would've been put down for some reason.

She told me she eventually, um, confronted him some place maybe back in like December. Um, after, you know, he had taken him in June and he said, oh yeah, Peewee had passed away, you know, recently and, you know, due to the old age. And, and that's what he had told her.

Do you remember when the Mars Food Company always did those adoption events? Yes. Did you, so it was during that adoption event. We went, and I saw Steffen and I said, how is Peewee? Because I think if I, if I remember correctly, I'm not positive, but I think Stephanie had given me some kind of, I need to talk, you need to talk to Steffen, and I was bound and determined, and when I finally saw him during that event. He said, well, I never wanted to tell. I always wanted to tell you to your face that I had put, had to put Peewee down.

So I told her that no Peewee was euthanized on June 8th. You turned Peewee over to him on June 6th at like 6:00 PM on a Saturday night. And she refused to believe me. She would not believe me. She's like, there's no way that Peewee was euthanized on the eighth. And I, I'm like telling you, I am looking at the records right now. He was euthanized. She was beside herself. She thought that Peewee had died, you know, due to just getting older. Um. And she just was, again, another devastated person from hearing about just a sweet dog that she had videos of. Um, and this was just a sweet, gentle dog that did not deserve that.

He kept that whole time, he kept saying, he's doing fine, he's doing fine. He's out sleeping under my kayaks. You know, he would give me. I mean, where he slept most of the day. He had a good dinner, you know this. So it was stuff that he made up because Doc then, um, detective Conroy told me the very next day, so I think whenever day we gave him on a Sunday or a Saturday, he said that next day is when he was put down. And I went, you're kidding me? And he said, Nope. I am not, he said, and I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that.

Thankfully, you know, so when I got the vet records, um, you know, what he had told, uh, whoever had euthanized. I don't remember if it was you or someone else who had euthanized.

No. he brought him over to Rascal Animal Hospital and told the doctor, Dr. Decker at that time, um, told her that he was having problems, and I think even seizures and neurological conditions and just not doing well.

Yeah. And neurological conditions, poor quality of life, um, you know, palliative care and end of life, you know, needs just need to be euthanized. Well, thankfully Theresa Balsiger had taken Peewee to her vet and that report was nothing like, uh, what Baldwin gave to you guys, which was complete opposite. You know, Peewee had a very good quality of life. Peewee had no neurological conditions. Peewee was just a sweet boy that was just starting from, lived a life of, of a horrible life, neglect in a hoarding situation. Um, I believe he was tied outside, uh, to a chain, uh, and a very short chain at that and, you know, to finally get a chance in life. And there was no reason.

I'd had him to Dr. Sullivan, who was my regular vet. And he said he was fine. He goes, he walked in circles, but he said he walked in circles because he was on a chain for eight years of his life. And he goes, he will eventually transition out of that, but you just have to let him do it on his own. And I said, all right. So we didn't force him and we would, he would get out and he would go out in the yard and he would start meandering around with the other dogs and doing things. So he was slowly getting out of that. My life is not at the end of this chain always.

Yeah. So he had like obsessive compulsive type, activity as far as just the circling, that was not a neurologic problem. Yes. But more of a behavioral issue from the condition that he was kept for so many years.

Yes. That's what I mean. That's what we were, I, uh, I don't know if you knew Dr. Sullivan. He passed, but he was one of those, he just, he knew his stuff. He just was a great vet. And then he passed away. But he was like, no. He goes, keep him So if I would've seen any signs of Peewee not being where he couldn't make it, then we would've not, we would've, you know, taken him in because I would've kept him. I've kept all of my dogs and I would've kept his ashes, but I was, I, I feel like I was robbed.

She did not ask him to take, he just took Peewee back. But he knew that no one, no one would ask about Peewee. Peewee belonged to nobody. He belonged to a hoarding house that he took Peewee from. No one was gonna ask about Peewee. He was getting, you know, he was getting rid of a problem dog named Coco. And he's getting rid of a dog no one's gonna ask about, 'cause he didn't like older dogs, which he had made the comment, he didn't like smaller dogs. Now, Peewee was only eight years old, but when he euthanized Peewee, he had Peewee at 14. Now he would do this a lot. He would exaggerate ages and or ailments or lie about ailments of what dogs did or have or that they did, or who they fought or didn't fight. He would lie about all those things when he had dogs euthanized.

This case was really sad for many reasons, but the impact that it had on the people that care about Peewee, especially the humane agent, who thought that she was out there helping him and taking him out of this horrible situation, eight years tied to a chain, and now he's finally living his best life and she finds out that he actually was euthanized for no reason.

I'm, I'm sad. I, I don't know that I completely understand all of the, the decisions that he made. I am really disappointed that we didn't give Peewee another opportunity. I'm really disappointed that I wish that I was in a position and that I, I could have helped, I guess, and I. I struggle with, um, understanding the thought process on a lot of things. So I did not know that Peewee was euthanized. And I know for a fact that if that was the situation that Peewee was in, I know Theresa would've taken him back. Um. Um, I know it is difficult to find fosters and own adopt adoptions for senior dogs, but um, I think there could have been an op other opportunities.

That one really bothered me for a long time, uh, that he was just so callous and cruel to do that. Like nothing. There was no thought to it. And then to lie about it, because he did tell her in a message early on that Peewee was laying under the hammock. Out Sunning. Peewee was dead. He was making his lies about Peewee, you know, how he was living life at his house. Um, it was just, I was, that's a tough one, uh, that I really struggle with.