A woman wants Hernando County FL to adopt an animal abuser registry to honor a tiny, sweet victim, to name and shame abusers, and to spare other animals from little Dexter kitten's fate.

Brooksville FL resident Betty Dobson  has contacted all five Hernando County Commissioners asking them to adopt an animal abuser registry named for Dexter kitten, who died earlier this week after seeming to make a miraculous recovery from a despicably brutal beating with an aluminum baseball bat on June 10 that brought repeated blows to his tiny head.

Ms. Dobson would like Dexter's home county to enact an ordinance modeled after an online animal abuser registry in Suffolk County, NY. In Suffolk County, abusers convicted of mistreating animals must register their names, addresses and photos of themselves for five years and pay an annual fee of $50. The photos and data are available online at a website maintained by the SPCA. Ms. Dobson notes that Suffolk County's registry has overcome legal hurdles, making it a safe, tested model, and she suggests that fees and donations can be put toward the cost of having a local organization maintain the online registry.

At this point, Ms. Dobson's proposal is no more than one woman's request to the Commission, at least as far as we know. Hopefully, the widespread attention Dexter's case has brought to Hernando County will help get the proposed ordinance onto the County's agenda and influence its approval.  The proposed ordinance is not on the agenda for the Commissioners' meeting scheduled for next week, and agendas for later meetings have not yet been made public.

On a related, note,  Dexter's accused abuser Wilana Frazier will appear before Judge Daniel Merritt Jr. at a hearing on September2.

Board of County Commissioners
20 North Main Street
Room 263  Brooksville, FL
34601
(352) 754-4000
Fax (352) 754-4477