Jury convicts Michigan veterinarian of theft for refusing to return dog to homeless man

A veterinarian who refused to return a dog to a homeless man after finding the ailing pit bull mix tied to a truck was convicted of theft Friday in western Michigan.

Amanda Hergenreder took the dog on a two-hour drive to her clinic, where she cleared up a severe urinary tract infection and removed a rotten tooth last November. She named him Biggby, after a nearby coffee shop, and said the 16-year-old dog was thriving while living with her.

But prosecutors filed a misdemeanor larceny charge after Hergenreder refused to bring the dog back to Chris Hamilton, a Grand Rapids man who lacked a permanent home at the time. She cited her ethical duties as a veterinarian and noted that the dog wasn’t licensed.

Despite the controversy, Hergenreder told jurors that she would do it all again “in a heartbeat.”

Defense attorney Miles Greengard said the veterinarian kept the dog because there was no assurance that animal welfare authorities would investigate his living conditions.

The trial in Grand Rapids, 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Detroit, lasted two days. A conviction for larceny can carry up to 93 days of jail and a fine.

“She believed, as I believe, she did the right thing. What is right and what is legal are not always the same thing,” Greengard told The Associated Press.

Hamilton won’t be getting the dog back. Biggby — or Vinny as Hamilton called him — was euthanized in July because of health problems in old age, Greengard said.

Earlier this year, Hamilton told WOOD-TV that he had tied the dog to a U-Haul truck while he walked to a gas station. “Never felt the same after losing him,” he said.