A Spokane Valley man already accused of abusing his dog has been charged with felony assault against a child.

Jeffrey S. Brown, 40, is accused of beating his 4-year-old stepson at the home they shared with Brown's wife and the couple's 18-month old son at 14819 E. Fourth Ave.

Brown remains in Spokane County Jail on $50,000 bond after appearing before Superior Court Judge Greg Sypolt today on one count of second-degree assault of a child. That's in addition to $10,000 bond already imposed for a first-degree animal cruelty charge

According to court documents, the victim's mother noticed unusual bruising on the boy Dec. 27 and took him to a hospital, then fled Spokane with her children “in cooperation with Child Protective Services.”

Brown was arrested in February after animal protection officers found his 1-year-old brown dog, Gizmoto, with a broken femur sustained during months of abuse.

Brown released ownership of the dog to SCRAPS, and the organization paid for the dog to be examined. SCRAPS director Nancy Hill said Wednesday that the veterinarian took the dog in but said she wasn't sure if it had been adopted yet.

In an interview with a sheriff's detective, Brown initially denied hurting the boy but then said he'd been too forceful on several occasions and needed counseling to control his temper.

A Spokane Valley man is in jail after animal control officers say they found his dog whimpering in pain from months of abuse.

Jeffrey S. Brown, 40, faces a first-degree animal cruelty charge after neighbors called the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service and said Brown beat and kicked the dog at his home at 14819 E. 4th Ave.

Brown told investigators that he’d adopted the 1-year-old brown dog, Gizmoto, last June and said he’d recently taken it to a veterinarian, but the vet told police he hadn’t seen Brown.

Brown released ownership of the dog to SCRAPS on Jan. 13, and the organization paid for the dog to be examined. The dog had a broken femur that was about three or four weeks old but had been re-injured. The vet said the dog was in severe pain and likely would require surgery, according to court documents.

Brown’s wife, Jennifer Brown, told police she’d left the dog with her husband after Child Protective Services took their four-year-old son because of abuse.

Brown remains in jail on $10,000 bond after appearing before Superior Court Judge Linda Tompkins on Friday.

A Spokane Valley homeowner whose 31 cats were seized last week has been charged with four misdemeanors. 

Julianna O. Bauer (left, in 2009) “was basically overwhelmed” by the situation and wants to cooperate with animal protection officers, said Nancy Hill, director of the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service.

Bauer contacted SCRAPS on Saturday and relinquished ownership of the felines, which were seized Sept. 15 from Bauer’s home at 4616 N. Larch Road. Officers described the home as “horrific.” Bauer said she was living there but sleeping in her car because of the mess, Hill said.

“She said basically that she was overwhelmed,” Hill said. “She wanted to cooperate to resolve this.”

Bauer’s cats, who had no major long-term health problems, are available for adoption, along with hundreds of other cats.

Forty-five cats were adopted last week at discount prices, but 118 were brought in, prompting SCRAPS to continue the special this week.

Today through Saturday, adoption fees are $25 cor one cat and $40 for two cats, which includes spaying or neutering, vaccines, microchips and licenses.

SCRAPS issued misdemeanor citations to Bauer for second-degree animal cruelty, one count of confinement in an unsafe manner and one count of operating an unlawful kennel.

Her case is a smaller-scale version of a hoarding case in west Spokane in summer 2008 that drew felony animal cruelty charges.

In the 2008 case, the suspect’s lawyer said the fumes inside her home may have affected her ability to reason; animal experts said her case showed how cat advocates can quickly transform into cat hoarders because of the region’s animal overpopulation problem.

Abby collapsed near the back steps, convulsing before her owner took her inside, where she died.

Her companion, Snoopy, died shortly after, both victims of what animal control officials suspect is a targeted assault using poisoned meatballs to kill Spokane’s best friends.

The attack on Abby and Snoopy took place in the 3300 block of East 55th Street. Another dog living near Regal Street and the Palouse Highway died Friday.

Then on Monday, a homeowner near 36th Street and Grand Boulevard found a suspicious meatball similar to those found Friday. Officials suspect a connection but haven’t determined one.The meat will be sent to Washington State University for testing.

Meanwhile, dog owners are urged to inspect their yards and keep their pets indoors, and the Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information that leads to an arrest. In each case, officials said, the targeted properties have dog houses, signs or other indications that dogs live there.

“It looks to me as though somebody is just driving around and wherever they see evidence of a dog living there, they toss those meatballs out,” said Gail Mackie, executive director of SpokAnimal. “It doesn’t make a difference where you live, you’re not immune.”

The people responsible for the tainted meatballs face charges of first-degree animal cruelty.

Nancy Hill, director of the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, described the substance as “a very fast-acting, horrible-death kind of poison.”

The meatballs “are very attractive, and they’re very lethal,” she said. “A dog can eat a meatball before you can even blink an eye.”

The woman who found the meat in her front yard on Monday “for some miraculous reason” had only let her dogs in the backyard that morning, Hill said.

“She was extremely upset knowing those were sitting in the area,” Hill said.

Abby (top right) and Snoopy (top left) lived with 21-year-old David Cheney and his family.

Cheney found the dogs early Friday after they ate what officials believe are the same type of meatballs found earlier that day near Regal Street and the Palouse Highway.

A SCRAPS investigator found several suspicious meatballs in Cheney’s neighbor’s yard.

“I spent Friday and Saturday burying both dogs,” Cheney said.

Both are buried in the backyard under large wooden crosses. Snoopy’s grave is below a tree he liked to lie under on sunny days.

The Cheneys brought the dogs with them from Florida when they moved to Spokane in 2002.

Cheney said he has no idea who would want to hurt them or why.

“The cops have better get ahold of him before I do,” Cheney said. “I’ll go to prison over it.”

Poisoned meatballs may have killed three dogs in the Moran Prairie neighborhood on Spokane’s South Hill today, and more suspicious meatballs were found in two other locations.

“All pet owners should closely inspect their yard and surrounding property when they arrive home tonight,” said Nancy Hill, director of the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service.

A woman told animal protection officers that she let her dogs out about 6 a.m. today on her property near Regal Street and the Palouse Highway and saw one eating something. She called the dog away, but about a half an hour later, the dog started having convulsions and died at a pet emergency clinic, according to SCRAPS.

Another woman living near 55th Avenue and Freya Street reported two dogs dead today, too, SCRAPS said.

An animal protection officer then found a suspicious meatball soaked in an unknown substance on the side of the road near a fenced yard in the 3300 block of East 55th Street, and another in the same vicinity but inside a fenced yard.

The Humane Society of the United States is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons responsible for the suspected poisonings.

Anyone with information is urged to cal SCRAPS emergency number, (509) 477-2533.