Travis Gant (Photo courtesy Winnebago County Sheriff's Office)
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Travis Gant pleaded not guilty Monday to allegedly abusing a dog, and then threatening family members who shared video of the dog that led to his arrest.
Gant, 39, faces five charges, including intentionally mistreating animals and intimidating a witness, for the Oct. 7 incidents at a home on Frederick Street.
No trial date was set. He returns to court Jan. 26 for a possible plea hearing, court records show.
According to the criminal complaint, a 13-year-old girl sent video to a friend showing Gant beating and kicking the family dog. The video recipient’s family then contacted police.
Police obtained a search warrant for the home.
“Representatives from the Oshkosh Area Humane Society (OAHS) responded to the residence and were able to safely remove three adult dogs and four young puppies. The abused dog named Chanel had an obvious injury to its head and appeared to be somewhat not coherent. She was not acting like the other adult dogs. It appeared that she had a hard time standing up inside the kennel and she was not barking. Chanel had dirty fur, long toenails, was very skinny near her hind legs. She had three lacerations on the top of her head. Some of these lacerations appeared to be in different stages of healing and partially scabbed over. Chanel had a hard time staying alert. At times her head would have a significant tilt to the right and she also appeared to struggle with walking and using her hind legs when she tried to walk,” the complaint states.
Two people in the home described repeated acts of abuse by Gant.
Gant denied abusing the animals to police.
“Travis stated that his two dogs, ‘Hustle’ and ‘Chanel,’ had been involved in a fight with each other. He said that Hustle had attacked Chanel. Travis alleged that there had been some medical concerns for Chanel as it pertained to her general health. He also alleged that Chanel had seizures in the past. He said that Hustle attacking Chanel caused another seizure. He also said that she had been bleeding from being attacked by Hustle. Travis denied that he had hit Chanel. Detective Flaig talked to him about a stick inside of the residence. He denied that he had been holding onto a stick or that he had used a stick to hit the animals,” the complaint states.
Gant also allegedly threatened people in the home, including an adult woman and a 13-year-old girl, for recording and sharing video of his interactions with the dogs, according to the complaint.
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