MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich — 13 ON YOUR SIDE first introduced you to Laura Mescote and her beloved K9 companion Tippy last February. At that time, the two had only been together for a few weeks.
On top of paying over $300 for his adoption fee to Lisa Cober of Cober's Canine's, Mascote said he was sick, and didn't smell good.
"I remembered him smelling super bad," Mascote said. "I just assumed it was just because it was raining that day. Notice his nails were like super, super long."
Mascote also had to pay to get him revaccinated.
"The vet had some concerns that his vaccination records could have been forged or, you know, misleading," said Mascote.
Tippy and Laura are still together, and he is now doing well.
"He'll be right in your lap and you fall asleep and it just makes me feel so happy that he's so comfortable with me and my family and my friends and that he feels so safe and loved," said Mascote.
Cober, who sold Tippy to Mescote, is still facing animal cruelty and abandonment charges.
When police raided her home in January of 2023, they found almost 80 animals in her Norton Shores home.
Other people we talked to who bought dogs from Cober had some of the same complaints as Mascote, they were malnourished, bad smelling, and sick.
On Wednesday, as Cober sat in a Muskegon County courtroom, defense attorney Robert Hedges told the judge that charges against her may be too vague, and therefore, unconstitutional.
"Frequently in a lot of these cases, that one of the problems with these vague laws is that it traps the innocent person, and that's certainly what I think is going on in this case," said Hedges. "It fails to tell them where that line is between what's right and what's wrong."
Hedges asked questions like, 'How many animals in a home are considered overcrowding?' or 'What is considered 'excessive' animal waste?'
Hedges also told the judge that Cober ran her canine rescue out of love.
"She does not make a profit and she loses money on the whole thing," said Hedges. "But she does this out of her love for animals and her love for dogs"
However, some people don't agree.
"I hope something's done it because obviously it was a very inhumane and horrible thing to put those dogs through," said Mascote.
Cober's trial is expected to start in March.
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