CHILTON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – A dog trainer from Verbena has been convicted of cruelty to animals after a puppy died.
Cupid Seymour is the owner of Cupid’s Dog House, a dog obedience training facility in Chilton County. Judge Chris Speaks sentenced Seymour to one year in the Chilton County Jail, however he will only spend 180 days of that sentence in jail.
Seymour, according to the District Attorney’s Office, will also be on probation for two years. Seymour was also ordered to pay $3,500 in restitution and a $1,000 fine.
He was arrested and charged after dog owner Karen Black said her puppy Chloe was starved to death in his care in September 2024.
Chloe was boarded with Seymour for three weeks before Seymour informed Black the pet had died. A necropsy done at the Deerfoot Animal Clinic showed Chloe did not have any food in its GI tract. Prosecutors called a vet to testify as to the amount of time it would have taken for there to be nothing in the GI tract. The state’s witness testified, in her opinion, that would take three to seven days to happen.
Two other witnesses, who were once Seymour’s clients, testified that he told them to withhold food from their dogs for a number of days for training purposes.
“A pet is a member of a family and what happened to Chloe was devastating to the Black family. This was a senseless tragedy which was completely avoidable and will not be tolerated in our communities. Anyone who harms a defenseless animal must be held accountable for their lack of human decency and moral responsibility,” said District Attorney CJ Robinson.
Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.
Copyright 2025 WBRC. All rights reserved.
