Whenever you lose a loved one, it is hard, whether it is a child, parent, sibling, or friend. For Liz Raab it was her dog Nitro. Nitro was a 3-year-old Rottweiler who was taken in a selfish crime of inhumanity.
Liz and her husband Tom hail from New York but in 2008 entrusted a highly esteemed K9 trainer with the care of Nitro after Liz and Tom had to travel due to Liz’s father being diagnosed with a terminal disease. Liz and Tom had a close working relationship with the trainer and he had cared for Nitro on previous occasions. They thought Nitro was in great hands along with 18 other canines. Unfortunately that was not the case. Liz and Tom were in weekly and sometimes daily contact with him via phone and e-mail and nothing troublesome ever occurred in their conversations until October 2008 when they planned on picking up Nitro.
Just days before Liz and Tom planned the 8-hour trip all communication with the trainer came to a complete standstill. Liz searched out all of his references trying to get a hold of him but there was no response. Then on October 25, 2008, Liz was watching the news when a clip of a law enforcement raid at the very same training facility was shown. The same place Nitro was. There were videos and graphic photos of dead and decomposing dogs, some dogs barely alive. After jumping in their car and driving to Ohio, Liz and Tom identified Nitro as one of the 8 dogs that had been starved to death. Due to the animal cruelty laws at the time, the trainer served only 4 months of jail time. People found abusing animals were charged with only a misdemeanor regardless of the extent of the cruelty.
After learning that animal abuse in Ohio was only a misdemeanor, Liz and Tom formed NitroFoundation. With the help of Rep. Ron Gerberry as the sponsor, Nitro’s Law was created. First introduced 5 years ago, Nitro’s Law was officially passed and signed into law in September 2013. Kennel owners and operators who commit acts of animal cruelty will now be charged with a felony on a first offense. “As a grassroots organization, my support system has been our members, animal lovers and advocates from all over Ohio. So many, many times over the past 5 years when feeling frustrated or simply exhausted, members would write to me and explain how they had their first sit down meeting with their legislators (a meeting which they told us would have never taken place if it wasn’t for our efforts).”
Liz says that her plan for the future is to continue advocating for animals. “We have a very strong group, called ‘Nitro’s Ohio Army’ … the boots on the ground in Ohio … the ‘watchdogs’ to be sure current law and the new law and punishments are being executed by the prosecutors, judges, etc.”
For more information visit www.nitrofoundation.com.