STATE v. RUDOLPH, 796 N.W.2d 455 (Iowa App. 2003)

STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. TERRY LYNN RUDOLPH, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 3-846 / 03-0062.Court of Appeals of Iowa.
Filed December 10, 2003.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Patrick Madden, Judge.

Terry Rudolph appeals from the judgment and sentence entered upon his conviction for animal neglect. AFFIRMED.

Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Robert Ranschau, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kevin Cmelik, Assistant Attorney General, Gary Allison, County Attorney, and Kerrie Snyder, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

Considered by Vogel, P.J., and Hecht and Vaitheswaran, JJ.

HECHT, J.

Terry Rudolph appeals from the judgment and sentence entered upon his conviction for animal neglect, in violation of Iowa Code sections 717B.3(1) and 717B.3(3) (2001). He contends the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. We review this claim for errors at law. Iowa R. App. P. 6.4 State v. Thomas, 561 N.W.2d 37, 39 (Iowa 1997).

From the evidence produced at trial a reasonable juror could have found the following facts. The dog died at a time during which Rudolph was caring for it, in the absence of his sister, who was then incarcerated. The dog was confined in a kennel outside Rudolph’s parents’ home. Rudolph admitted to an investigating officer he was responsible for the dog prior to its death; Rudolph was aware the dog was ill and that medicine had been prescribed for treatment of the illness; and Rudolph failed to give medicine to the dog. He took no alternative action to aid the dog. The dog was later discovered in a decomposed state in its outdoor kennel.

In order to sustain the conviction, the evidence must establish that Rudolph confined the dog and failed to supply the dog with a sufficient quantity of food, water, shelter, or the “necessary sustenance.” Iowa Code § 717B.3. We conclude the record contains evidence sufficient to support these elements See State v. Bass, 349 N.W.2d 498, 500 (Iowa 1984). We therefore affirm Rudolph’s conviction for animal neglect.

AFFIRMED.