Mantua Township animal rescue group ordered to close after 146 dog deaths case

RAVENNA − An animal rescue group has been ordered to pay more than $5,000 and cease operating following the deaths of 146 dogs last year at a Mantua Township home.

After Canine Lifeline, Inc. pleaded no contest Friday to 25 counts of first-degree misdemeanor cruelty to companion animals in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna, Acting Judge James Silver found the non-profit organization guilty, according to court records.

Silver ordered Canine Lifeline pay $5,008 to reimburse the Portage Animal Protective League for the cost of necropsies on the dogs, said attorney J. Jeffrey Holland, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the APL. In addition, court costs were also ordered, but Holland did not know the amount and it was not included in court records.

Silver also ordered that Canine Lifeline possess no animals and dissolve within five years.

"It's essentially the death penalty, the corporate death penalty," said Holland.

Canine Lifeline did not have an attorney during the case. The organization has not responded to emails seeking comment, the latest on Monday morning.

The most recent posting on Canine Lifeline's website, a "final public statement" dated July 5, 2023, said Canine Lifeline's "rescue work is ending." The group thanked supporters and volunteers and encouraged people to continue helping animals.

The case arose when 146 dogs were found dead in June 2023 at a Mantua Township home owned by Barbara Wible, Canine Lifeline's executive director.

A Portage County grand jury indicted Wible on 146 counts of fifth-degree felony cruelty to a companion animal.

In a June 19 post on its website, Canine Lifeline said, "Like the general public, volunteers of the non-profit animal rescue organization Canine Lifeline have been shocked, horrified and confused to learn of the devastating revelations regarding its president and co-founder, Barb Wible, and the dogs that suffered in her home. We share your grief and despair."

The post said an investigation began after Wible collapsed June 2 at her Parma home.

"No volunteers were aware of any medical conditions that Wible had been diagnosed with prior to this most recent hospitalization, nor were any aware of the number of dogs she harbored, nor the condition of her home," the post also said.

Wible was also indicted on 36 similar counts in Cuyahoga County after 36 dogs were found in her Parma home, also in June 2023. A dozen of those dogs were found to be deceased, and three more had to be euthanized. The remaining 21 were taken to a local shelter.

Wible, 69, of Parma, who was reported to be terminally ill with cancer, died Jan. 28. Prosecutors offices in both counties said that once they confirmed her death more than three weeks later, they expected to files motions to dismiss their respective cases.

As of Monday, however, online court records did not show any new filings.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: 'Death penalty' for Portage County animal rescue group