Perry County animal rescue operator faces felony charge over adopted-dog issue

The operator of a Perry County animal-rescue shelter faces a felony charge of receiving stolen property for previously refusing to return an adopted dog to its owner.

Perry County Prosecuting Attorney Thomas Hoeh filed the charge against Steve Svehla, 57, of Perryville, Missouri, last week.

The charge comes after an earlier court battle between Perryville resident Jamie Patterson, who had adopted the boxer-mastiff mix, and Svehla, owner of Rough Road Rescue.

Svehla had argued the adoption of Mack did not constitute a sale, and he had every right to keep the dog after it ran away from the Patterson home.

Svehla said recently he did not want to return the dog to Patterson because he felt she did not care adequately for Mack.

A state appeals court ruled in July that Patterson was the rightful owner. The court ordered Svehla to return the dog to Patterson.

But Svehla initially resisted.

On Aug. 11, he turned over a box with ashes as well as veterinary records. Patterson was led to believe Mack had died and been cremated.

Svehla informed Patterson on Aug. 11 that "Mack had passed away" in May, Perry County Sheriff's Department deputy Jason Kelley said in a probable-cause statement.

According to Kelley, Svehla handed Patterson a letter from a veterinarian showing Mack had recovered from a previous illness in December 2016.

"Patterson was persistent and did not believe Mack was dead," Kelley wrote.

Patterson contacted all of the known surrounding crematories for animals and discovered none of them had cremated an animal for Svehla, the deputy said.

On Aug. 15, Svehla gave up custody of Mack at the Perry County Sheriff's Department.

Svehla recently admitted he lied about the dog's demise.

The criminal charge filed Wednesday in Perry County Circuit Court accuses Svehla of depriving Patterson of her dog "knowing or believing that it had been stolen."

Kelley wrote he "seized the wooden box and the contents and placed them into evidence" with the sheriff's department Aug. 17, two days after the return of the dog.

Patterson said Friday she would like to see Rough Road Rescue shut down.

"I am not the only person he has been dishonest to," she said.

Svehla turned people down for adoption of animals he rescued, she said.

Patterson said she and others in Perryville recently began looking at establishing a not-for-profit, foster-care program for animals with a view toward eventually establishing an animal shelter to serve the community.

Svehla did not return messages left on his answering machine Friday at Rough Road Rescue.

Svehla said earlier this month he expected to face a criminal charge for his actions but insisted he acted "to protect the animal."

If convicted of the Class D felony, Svehla could be sentenced to a maximum of seven years in prison and/or fined a maximum of $10,000, according to a court document.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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