Long also must pay $7,200 in restitution to three of the victims and Taverna owes $2691.24 to one victim.
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Long and Taverna cannot have contact with each other and Taverna was also ordered to have to contact with their co-defendant, Jason Jones.
Taverna and Long both pleaded guilty to of four counts of theft and one count of cruelty to companion animals after pleading no contest in February, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.
Taverna also pleaded guilty to a second count of cruelty to companion animals.
The cruelty to companion animals convictions are first-degree misdemeanors.
Two counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity were dismissed.
Dozens of pet owners reportedly paid more than $200,000 to Dayton Dog Trainer, which was run by Jones.
The three people were charged after a lengthy investigation by the Miamisburg Police Department found that after accepting thousands in payment, dogs were returned untrained, often covered in feces and with obvious signs of neglect and mistreatment, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. said previously.
The investigation started after Randy Reed of Miamisburg hired Jones to train his two 6-month-old bernedoodles, Emmy and Bailey, for $4,000. Two weeks later, Reed said he found the dogs staked out in a field, filthy with a rash and clear weight loss.
He took home his dogs, and found a dozen people via social media with similar experiences before taking that information to the police.
In all, police found more than 65 dog owners who were victims of the business.
The victims include one woman, whose French bulldog was returned dirty with missing hair, and appeared to have had his teeth filed down; and a couple who sent their German Shepherd to the business multiple times, resulting in the dog’s behavior becoming worse and worse, acting frightened and increasingly aggressive.
In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors said that one of the dogs died due to the fraudulent training business’ actions, and a second was “so changed after being in Jones’ care that he had to be euthanized.”
Jones was sentenced to up to five years of probation and ordered to pay $341,363.24.
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