Schaumburg woman's animal cruelty trial begins

It was a stupid idea to use an industrial-strength tow chain as a dog collar, Jenell Land's defense attorney admits. But, he added, it wasn't a criminal act.

Whether 12 of Land's peers buy that argument remains to be seen.

The jury heard opening arguments and the state's first witnesses Wednesday afternoon in the animal cruelty trial of the 33-year-old Schaumburg woman, who could face one to three years in prison if convicted of the felony.

Land's young brindle pit bull, Carmello, had to be euthanized Nov. 30, 2008, because a 3.4-pound chain was wrapped so tightly around its neck, it had become embedded, with skin and tissue growing around it.

The dog died because of Land's "brutal, barbaric, cruel and despicable acts," Assistant State's Attorney Mike Andre said. He argued Land waited until the pit bull became emaciated and developed a gaping wound in its neck before taking it to a veterinarian.

"This isn't something she saw the night before," Andre said. "It took weeks and weeks and weeks for the dog to get this injury."

But Assistant Public Defender Larry Kugler said Land raced Carmello to Golf Rose Animal Hospital in Schaumburg right after her son said he couldn't remove the collar from its neck.

Land, who Kugler said earned $1,300 a month, brought $525 cash and offered up the title to her car when she was told surgery would cost more than $1,000. She was told she couldn't wait to pay until receiving her next pay check, and decided to euthanize the dog.

The family had tried many other collars before using the chain because the pit bull was prone to running away, Kugler said.

The jury, whose members saw photographs of the euthanized dog, heard testimony from Schaumburg community service officer Max Marcus. He went to Land's home on the 2200 block of Briar Hill in July - about four months before the dog's death - because a citizen complained it was without food or water. Marcus noticed the chain and advised Land it wasn't a proper dog collar. He returned two or three times to follow up, but no one was home and there was no sign of the dog.

Two Schaumburg patrol officers also testified to Land's agitated demeanor when they arrested her at home. Land screamed obscenities at the officers and said "she didn't have the chain on the dog to be mean or nothing," officer Dennis Schmitt testified. She at times denied the dog was hers and told police her son or a neighbor could have tightened the collar without her knowing.

The trial resumes today in Rolling Meadows before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Fecarotta.