A 19-year-old Willoughby man has entered a plea of no contest to charges of animal cruelty, and must
spend time in jail and submit to a mental health evaluation.
Joshua Pulford faced two cruelty charges, and one charge for abandoning animals, after he allegedly shut
his cat in a closet before moving out of his Bowling Green apartment in early December. The teen had
adopted the cat from the Wood County Humane Society in September.
The animal’s carcass was found in January.
A pretrial conference for Pulford was held Monday at Bowling Green Municipal Court, between his attorney
LeAnn Schemrich and prosecutor Andrew Schuman. With the plea, the case advanced to sentencing.
The cruelty to animals charge is a first-degree misdemeanor. According to humane society agent Erin
McKibben, in exchange for his plea, the humane society dropped the remaining two charges against
Pulford, which both were second-degree misdemeanors.
Judge Mark Reddin sentenced Pulford to 180 days of jail time, of which 135 were suspended. He also
imposed a $1,000 fine, of which $500 was suspended. Additionally, the judge ordered Pulford to serve 240
hours of community service work which, if completed by July 15, will result in suspension of the fine.

The teen also was ordered to not own, possess, harbor, obtain or live with any animals, and not live with
anyone who owns animals. He also was placed on probation for five years, and must undergo a mental
health evaluation.
He was remanded to the justice center after the court appearance to serve 45 days.
Employees at Green Meadows Apartments, on Napoleon Road in Bowling Green, found the animal carcass in
January and contacted the humane society.
The Wood County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant Jan. 20 for Pulford’s arrest; the defendant turned
himself in and appeared for arraignment Jan. 31 and pleaded not guilty.
"He said it was an accident," said prosecutor Andrew Schuman about Pulford’s reason for leaving
the cat behind.
A litter box and food bowl were left in the closet, but the bag of cat food was on a shelf out of reach
of the animal.
"No one thought it was an accident," Schuman stated this morning.
The attorney, who does pro bono work for the humane society, considered the sentencing to be fair, given
the nature of the crime. He added that the adoption contract with the humane society states if a person
can no longer care for an animal, it should be returned to the society.
"We couldn’t ask for it to go any better," stated McKibben. "I believe the outcome was
fair."
She said the condition of the closet in which the cat had been contained showed signs that the animal had
tried to claw its way out. Both wood chips and carpet fibers were found in its stomach contents, she
said.
"It was a month before we found it, we don’t know how long it took before starvation overcame
him," McKibben stated.
Schemrich, with the Wood County Public Defenders office, could not be reached this morning for comment.