Police locate dog abducted from Little Guild animal shelter

CORNWALL — The young man who came to the Little Guild animal shelter May 2 told employees he wanted to adopt a companion dog. As is typical, they encouraged him to spend time getting to know one or more first. And so he took Sherman, a black-and-white mixed breed, predominately pit bull, for a walk in the woods behind the Route 128 facility.When Sherman was discovered missing a short time later, an all-out dog hunt was mounted. It included Little Guild employees and volunteers and Animal Control Officer Brad Hedden and his family. Suspecting the dog had been stolen, Executive Director Denise Cohn called the State Police.“I didn’t really know if they would help. I figured it wouldn’t be a priority for them, but they were absolutely amazing,” Cohn said. “The dog disappeared about 2 p.m. We had him back by 8:30 that night.” There had also been an arrest in the case by that evening.Troopers Jared Barbero, Robert Criscione and Nicholas Marti launched an all-out effort that stretched beyond the 4 p.m. end to their shift. The following day, Marti and Criscione (who were back on duty) met with Little Guild folks at Troop B for a big thank you that included hugs and cookies, and another chance to meet Sherman, who had taken it all in stride.Alexander Welsh, 19, of Cold Spring, N.Y., is only a suspect at this point. He was charged with fifth degree larceny and second degree making a false statement. As of late Saturday, he had not posted a $5,000 bond, and was being held pending a May 5 arraignment in Bantam Superior Court.Marti and Criscione said the evidence against him is compelling and that the story Welsh told them seemed made up. The troopers reviewed security camera footage that shows Welsh getting in his car with Sherman. Cohn noted he had parked at the far side of the parking lot at the Cornwall animal shelter, even though there were spaces in front of the building, as if he planned to be able to leave undetected. There are signs on the property that clearly state that the premises are monitored by cameras. “We recognized his car,” Marti said, explaining that Welsh had driven the same vehicle to Troop B less than two weeks earlier, when he turned himself in following an investigation of a motorcycle accident. Welsh was charged with crashing a Kawasaki owned by a Millerton woman on Sharon Station Road in Sharon April 19, and leaving the scene. It remains unclear if he had permission to take the bike or not, according to the troopers. A filed report shows Welsh was charged with evading responsibility, operating a motorcycle without the proper license and traveling too fast for conditions. He was to appear in court on those charges as well on May 5.On May 2, troopers tracked Welsh down at his parents’ home in Salisbury, and found Sherman with him. Both were taken into custody without incident.Criscione said Welsh told them Sherman had run away from him at The Little Guild. He said he had searched in his car and found the dog. “He didn’t have an explanation for why he took the dog to Salisbury, instead of back to the shelter,” Criscione said.While police and others searched quickly, fearing the trail would go cold and Sherman would be gone for good, the pup was apparently enjoying what was to him just an afternoon out. The Little Guild takes great care to profile personalities of the dogs and cats it adopts out to help ensure good matches. Sherman has been at the shelter for about six months, but the team has not been completely assured about his docile nature. He has been through a lot, including an operation for a condition that threatened his vision. It made it difficult to fully assess him.“Now we know his temperament is exceptional,” Cohn said. “He’s always been a great dog. Now we are sure that he will make a great pet.”Volunteer Jessie Bate noted Sherman did not seem at all upset by being taken to another home and meeting new people. The troopers said when they seized the dog, he happily came along. Going to Troop B the next day was simply another car ride and a chance to see something new.“For Sherman, it was probably all about getting to go for rides,” Bate said. “He didn’t know that anything was wrong.”Sherman’s human friends hope the publicity of his big day out will bring him a forever home.