Dead Bel-Air Dog Costs $680

Dewey Pest Control Co. was sentenced to two years’ probation Thursday and ordered to pay $680 in fines and penalty assessments for a misdemeanor conviction that stemmed from the death of a dog belonging to a Bel-Air couple.

The exterminating company and one of its employees, Wendell Davis, were found guilty last July 25 of having improperly used sewer rat poison outdoors, contrary to instructions on the product’s label. Charges were filed after Teri Redack, the dog’s owner, learned that Davis had placed rat poison on her neighbor’s property a few days before the March, 1984, death of Pooh, her 9-year-old toy poodle.

The Municipal Court jury that heard the case decided, however, that the prosecution had not proved that the pesticide caused Pooh’s death. Judge Mel Red Recana also placed Davis, who has worked for Dewey 12 years, on two years’ probation and ordered him to pay $340 in fines and penalty assessments.

“I think it’s a very, very harsh sentence for the magnitude of the crime,” Ron Pelham, Dewey president, said. “It’s much too severe for the misinterpretation of a word.” During the trial, the defense argued that the label instructions on the pesticide referred only to a “suggested” use.