CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nearly two years to the day since police seized 29 dogs from Earl Hamilton's home, a plea in court Monday, resolved the case.
With an Alford plea, Hamilton formally pleaded guilty to various animal abuse charges, while neither asserting guilt nor innocence in the case, and a judge rendered the punishment: The 43-year-old would surrender the seized dogs who have been living at CMPD Animal Care and Control (ACC) over the length of the legal proceedings, plus six dogs who have remained at his home.
Hamilton also cannot legally own another dog for the next five years. However, his wife will be able to keep two dogs under her care.
"It's absolutely a slap on the wrist," Jackie Bonner-Farnham, board member with animal welfare group Unchain America, said.
ACC reports Hamilton pleaded to five counts of felony dog fighting, 12 counts of felony animal cruelty, 12 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and three counts of misdemeanor cruel restraint. Hamilton was initially charged after an October 2021 bust, when CMPD animal control officers responded to a home along Leopold Place in northeast Charlotte.
A 2014 report from NBC affiliate WRAL shows Hamilton has previously made headlines in other parts of North Carolina for animal abuse charges. The report noted at least two other instances of animal cruelty accusations, in 2010 and in 2014.
Bonner-Farnham said the repeat offenses show how lax North Carolina's legal protections are against animal abuse. The animal advocate, who has decades of experience with animal rescue in various states, said the Tar Heel State is among the worst when it comes to animal welfare policies and state lawmakers have not done enough to create strict enough rules to properly punish offenders.
"That is not right," Bonner-Farnham said. "It does not protect society. It doesn't protect the taxpayer. This costs a lot of money."
ACC said, in Hamilton's case, a court order had him paying $300 a month to reimburse the shelter for the medical and daily care of his 29 dogs. WCNC Charlotte requested a shelter estimate for how much the agency actually spent on those efforts, and an initial analysis of the first four months of care showed expenses closer to $9 thousand per month.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
Shelter officials said they are still calculating the total cost for the full two years of care.
Melissa Knicely, the agency's communications director, who spoke with WCNC Charlotte's Vanessa Ruffes before the case was settled, said, in general, any big dog fighting and abuse bust can be a drain on a local shelter, with compensation from the defendant doing little to meet the actual expenses.
"The dogs are the evidence, along with other things as well, but you can't put a dog in a box and put it on a shelf and, you know, go on until the case is heard," Knicely said, adding that there are medical, enrichment, and basic needs that need to be handled. "If you can imagine boarding 20 dogs for months, how much that might cost... it's a big burden on the budget for the county shelter. It's a burden for taxpayers, and a lot of times, these cases can take years to go to trial."
Bonner-Farnham said tougher penalties for these crimes would likely prevent abusers from striking again and offer financial outlets for local animal agencies to recoup the money spent on seized animals.
"The guidelines should be enforced, and they should be much firmer than they are," Bonner-Farnham said. "The restitution, the financial penalties to these people should be a lot."
"This is not going to keep this gentleman from continuing to participate in dogfighting rings," she said, of Hamilton's punishment in this latest case. "The only thing that would do that would be to jail him."
To those who feel as frustrated as she does about the legal outcome of the situation, Bonner-Farnham recommends reaching out to local and state representatives and demanding change.
"It's a lot more than just somebody being mean to dogs," Bonner-Farnham said, "And even if you didn't like animals, surely you would like your tax situation to be a little bit better."
ACC said 26 dogs from Hamilton's case remain alive; two of them died after suffering medical issues, and another was humanely euthanized for a medical issue.
Animal care officers have assembled a team of staff members who will evaluate the remaining dogs to decide which animals can be placed into other arrangements, like adoptions or rescues, and which ones must be euthanized.
One of the six dogs newly removed from Hamilton's home this week is a pregnant female, for whom the shelter is seeking rescue care.
Contact Vanessa Ruffes at vruffes@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.