Robin and William Lasher, the Fulton couple convicted of abandoning their pets in the frigid Lysander woods in January, were sentenced June 17 in Lysander Town Court.
Judge Michael Bryant sentenced the two to 120 hours of community service and three years’ probation, during which time they are not allowed to own or care for any animals.
William Lasher, 47, and Robin Lasher, 48, each pleaded guilty to two counts of abandoning an animal in Lysander Town Court the evening of April 8 as part of a plea bargain offered by Onondaga County Assistant District Attorney Jordan McNamara.
The Lashers originally had been charged with two counts of failure to provide proper sustenance for an animal, two counts of an act of cruelty to an animal and one count of unjustifiable death of an animal.
A hunter discovered the Lashers’ black Lab mix, whom community supporters dubbed “Hope,” and a deceased cat Jan. 26 off Route 48 in the town of Lysander. Hope has since been adopted.
Bryant noted that Robin Lasher had expressed that “she didn’t think [her sentence] was fair.”
“I’m a little concerned, Ms. Felasco. I’m not sure your client appreciates the significance of this,” Bryant told Robin Lasher’s attorney, Mary Felasco. “It’s a pretty brutal thing to do.”
Felasco said her client was “very sorry” and “didn’t think it through” when she and her husband left their dog and cat in the woods Jan. 26.
Bryant told the Lashers that the terms of their probation would prevent them from even “babysitting” someone else’s pet.
The Lashers will be permitted to complete their community service for a nonprofit organization in Oswego County, where they reside. Bryant transferred the case to Fulton City Court, which will handle any possible probation violations.
Karen Antczak, a member of the Animal Alliance of Greater Syracuse’s board of directors and part of AAGS’ Court Watch Program, said she was “glad [Bryant] recognized that this was a serious matter.”
“They were lucky that we reside in a state with such weak laws,” Antczak said. “At least on paper the community is recognizing what an awful thing was done.
“It’s a shame that they didn’t show any real sorrow,” she said.
After the sentencing, William Lasher, his daughter and their companions exchanged heated words with animal welfare activists in the parking lot of Lysander Town Hall. A group of young women shouted comparisons of the Lashers’ animal abuse to child abuse and argued with the defendants as Onondaga County Sheriff’s Deputies warned them to quiet down and go home.
“[Let] he without sin cast the first stone,” one of the Lashers’ companions said.
“Get a life and stop drinking,” William Lasher replied.
