Timber Abuse Case Continues- Infantino / Miller versus Glencadia Dog Camp

Hudson, New York Jun 23, 2023 (Issuewire.com) – At the Columbia County Courthouse in Hudson, NY, nurse Danielle Infantino and corrections officer Joann Miller decided against settling their libel case involving a claim of abuse of their pitbull, Timber. The suit and countersuit by Will Pflaum of Glencadia Dog Camp will now proceed in Columbia County Supreme Court. Miller v. Pflaum / Pflaum v. Miller (E012022017958) is presided over by Justice Sara W. McGinty.

Judge McGinty called the June 22 meeting after Miller and Infantino reversed their earlier agreement to settle without damages and recently added a demand for $50,000. Clearly disappointed that Miller and Infantino had abandoned the non-monetary settlement agreement that they had previously accepted, the judge advised Infantino and Miller that there was no clear road to recovering damages if they continued in court. Judge McGinty insisted that the parties themselves be present. Infantino and Miller are represented by Henry R. Kaufman, P.C., 60 East 42nd Street, 47th Floor, New York, NY 10165.

“When I think about how much money they are flushing down the drain on Kaufman, I almost feel sorry for Infantino and Miller,” said their adversary Will Pflaum, owner of Glencadia Dog Camp. “Almost sorry, but not quite. When I remember the gigantic growth on their dog, their idiotic and shameful GoFundMe campaign, and how dishonest they are, I kind of think Kaufman and his clients deserve each other. Shady is as shady does.”

Miller and Infantino sent their 11-year-old pitbull Timber to board at Glencadia Dog Camp in December 2020. Miller and Infantino did not inform Glencadia that the dog had a pre-existing serious condition, cryptorchidism. Normally, when a dog is about 6 weeks old the testes descend into the scrotum. However, in Timber’s case, one or both of the testes never descended. Castration, a simple procedure performed on most dogs in the United States, quickly fixes this concern, usually before the dog turns six months. However, as Miller and Infantino failed to provide basic care for Timber, for the next 11 years Timber suffered a growing, painful, and uncomfortable growth on his hindquarters. Because of negligent care, Timber could no longer be treated with a simple “fix” procedure as an older dog, and more involved surgery was scheduled in Long Island prior to Miller and Infantino sending Timber to Glencadia, according to a text message from Miller after Timber was already in the boarding facility.

While boarding at Glencadia, Timber became listless and seemed close to death. Glencadia staff took him for emergency care. A blood test found him to be anemic. He was treated for anemia and given antibiotics. Infantino and Miller did not reimburse Glencadia Dog Camp for this life-saving procedure. Rather than drive a few hours to pick their dog up, Infantino and Miller left Timber at the kennel, where he survived for several more days but continued to lose weight due to anemia and his pre-existing cryptorchid.

After returning Timber to Infantino and Miller, Infantino and Miller posted a campaign on GoFundMe claiming that Timber had been abused at Glencadia Dog Camp. “This is a fraud,” said Will Pflaum, owner of Glencadia, “as the some $1600 they earned from this campaign was donated based on a lie. Not only did we not abuse Timber, we saved his life. Timber was dying. People who abuse dogs usually don’t also take them to the vet and pay for their care. We don’t need any death or dying dogs at Glencadia and people should not send dogs with critical medical issues to a kennel.”

Not satisfied with their fraudulent earnings through GoFundMe, Miller then called the New York State Police and spoke to Trooper Sommers of the Troop K unit in Kinderhook, NY. Miller claimed that Will Pflaum was personally guilty of criminal dog abuse. Her only evidence of abuse was Timber’s weight loss while at camp. “If you have no evidence of a crime, don’t file a police report,” Pflaum says.

“I offered to settle and drop the competing cases even though I had won two early decisions and had irrefutable evidence. I would love to move on and forget this whole unfortunate encounter. But if they want to go to court, I guess that’s what we’ll do.”