Neighbors on Michael Drive in Brook Park called police on a Wednesday morning last month after realizing a married couple who had just moved out left behind a house full of animals with no way in and, apparently, no food or water. What officers and animal control found inside would grow into one of the largest reptile abandonment cases the city has seen: 55 pythons, dozens of smaller reptiles, and a dehydrated Shih Tzu with matted hair, all left to fend for themselves.
According to Cleveland.com, neighbors called police around 8:30 a.m. on July 22, and animal control officers arrived at the home about three hours later. The 38-year-old man and 43-year-old woman who lived there had reportedly moved out within the previous five days while facing eviction, and had asked neighbors to take care of their dog but never told them how to get inside the house. The neighbors ended up climbing in through the home's milk chute and unlocking a side door to reach the animals.
Once inside, officers found a home stocked with reptiles but nothing to feed them. Police tallied 55 pythons, three bearded dragons, 20 geckos, one Nile monitor, and one red iguana, along with a single white mouse, per the same account. Investigators determined that only two of the snakes had access to water. Three dead pythons and one dead corn snake turned up in a downstairs freezer.
Shih Tzu Rescued in Rough Shape
The family dog, a Shih Tzu, was found dehydrated and covered in matted hair — conditions the report describes as signs of neglect. The dog was first taken to Community Vet at 15541 Snow Road for evaluation and treatment before being transferred to the Brook Park Animal Shelter. The veterinarian contacted police about the dog's condition on August 6, according to the same report.
To safely remove the reptile population, police called in Satoo Reptiles & Aquatics, a Parma specialty shop that has operated out of its Brookpark Road storefront since 2016. The business, co-owned by Michael Easter and a partner named Tim, took the animals in for safekeeping and later contacted police to report that four reptiles and one snake had died due to neglect, the outlet reports. Brook Park has long been a hub for the region's reptile hobbyist community — the city has hosted the monthly All Cleveland Reptile Show & Sale at the UAW Hall for more than a decade, per Cleveland Magazine — which may help explain why a local vendor was equipped to handle such a large-scale extraction.
What Charges Could Look Like
The married couple may now face criminal charges, though none had been filed as of the report. Under Ohio's Goddard's Law, codified at O.R.C. § 959.131, any animal kept inside a residential dwelling — not just dogs and cats — legally qualifies as a companion animal, according to Ohio Laws. That means the reptiles left behind in Brook Park could be treated the same as the family dog under the law. Knowingly causing serious physical harm or withholding necessary food and water from a companion animal can be charged as a fifth-degree felony on a first offense, carrying up to 12 months in prison and $2,500 in fines, according to Luftman, Heck & Associates.
Not every animal found in the home falls under the same scrutiny, however. Ohio's Dangerous Wild Animal and Restricted Snake regulations under O.R.C. Chapter 935 only require a Restricted Snake Possession Permit for species like Reticulated, Indian, Burmese, and Rock Pythons once they reach 12 feet or longer, per Holland & Muirden, Attorneys at Law. The Nile monitor recovered from the home isn't classified as a restricted dangerous wild animal at all under Ohio Revised Code § 935.01, meaning its ownership falls under general residential animal welfare rules rather than the stricter wildlife permitting system.
Ohio's tighter exotic-animal laws trace back to the 2011 Zanesville incident, when a private owner released more than 50 exotic animals before dying by suicide, prompting the state to crack down on unpermitted large-scale private exotic collections, according to Court News Ohio. More recently, the Supreme Court of Ohio unanimously ruled in October 2024 that companion animal cruelty protections must be broadly applied to protect animals from serious physical harm, the same outlet reports. State lawmakers have continued pushing to toughen the law further — proposed Senate Bill 64 would raise certain first-offense violations to mandatory maximum felony terms, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
The case adds to a string of large-scale animal neglect cases making headlines in recent weeks, including a Cleveland man wanted on 22 cruelty counts in a separate Cuyahoga County case. Brook Park's own animal control department, which has fielded more than 5,600 complaints since 2012 under Chief Animal Control Officer Alex Perkins, according to the City of Brook Park, is now left managing the fallout from one of its larger cases in recent memory.
