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Kahaluu dog breeder James Montgomery is going to jail for nine months for torturing a Chihuahua-mix puppy that was later named Cheddar.
State Circuit Judge Shirley Kawamura handed Montgomery the jail term Thursday as part of a four-year probation sentence for felony animal cruelty. She initially ordered Montgomery taken into custody to begin serving the jail term immediately. She later gave him
until Monday to turn himself in after Montgomery’s lawyer told her his client needs to gather his health records so state prison officials can arrange for the proper care of his diabetes.
Montgomery, 69, pleaded no contest to felony animal cruelty involving Cheddar
in April. In exchange, the prosecutor agreed to drop misdemeanor animal cruelty charges against him involving 33 other dogs seized from his Mahakea Road property.
Honolulu police and Hawaiian Humane Society investigators went to Montgomery’s home in May 2016 on a report of someone throwing away live dogs.
Humane Society field
service manager Harold Han told Kawamura that the investigators found two dogs in a trash bin, apparently left for dead. He said one dog, however, was still alive, shivering but unresponsive.
“His fractured tail had no fur and was completely exposed. He was so starved and dehydrated his vertebrae was protruding in his neck area, and you could see it under the skin. He was unable to stand or eat on his own for several weeks,” Han said.
He said the investigators named the dog Cheddar because its natural white fur was so matted and stained with feces and urine that it appeared yellowish-brown, like cheddar cheese.
This is not the first time Montgomery has been in trouble for his dog breeding operation. He pleaded guilty in 2006 to 55 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. A state judge granted his request to defer his guilty pleas, and in 2008 the court dismissed all of the charges after Montgomery completed all of the terms and conditions he was ordered to perform, including paying $5,500 in fines and $3,025 into a state fund for crime victims.
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