MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — In January, nearly 80 dogs were seized from the home of Lisa Cober. Now, nine months later, her trial has yet to begin and shelters like Harbor Humane Society are growing frustrated there's been no justice served.
Jen Self-Aulgur, director of Harbor Humane, says she felt disappointed when she was told Cober's trial was postponed. Cober faces a charge of abandoning and cruelty to 25 or more animals. The trial was originally slated to begin on Tuesday morning.
Harbor Humane took in 26 of the rescued dogs. Six of them died from distemper, but the rest are all in good hands.
"Everyone has been adopted and is in a home and is doing really, really well," says Self-Aulgur.
But while she's glad those dogs are living happy lives, Self-Aulgur says her work isn't done.
"They may have forgotten some of that past trauma, but we haven't," she says. "And we still want to see justice served."
Muskegon County's assistant prosecutor Tim Maat tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE that the delay is because the defense asked for more time to provide information for potential new motions it wants the court to consider.
Self-Aulgur worries the longer the trial is delayed, statements from witnesses could lose impact.
"As time goes by, you know, it does tend to go to the back of the mind," she says. "And people tend to forget these things."
She also worries that Cober could harm more dogs without facing punishment.
"That's kind of been a pattern that we've seen with a lot of, you know, people in these hoarding situations," says Self-Aulgur. "If justice doesn't come, then, you know, they simply go right back to it. So our hope really is for this to have an ending for people to see that, you know, there is a punishment for this crime."
There is currently no new date scheduled for the trial to begin.
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