Two charged with stealing puppy ask forgiveness

Springfield attorney Dee Wampler is now representing the two people charged with stealing an 8-week-old puppy from the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri — and he is not shy about what they did.

"What they did was stupid," Wampler said in a press conference at his and Joseph Passanise's law office. "It was senseless, and they want everybody to know that they're sorry. They apologize for what they did. They've embarrassed themselves, and their families and the people of southwest Missouri."

But, Wampler says, although they did take the dog from the shelter without paying for it, they are not criminals.

Aaron Duvel, Wampler pointed out, is a member of the Missouri National Guard who served two tours of duty, and Jamie Wirsig is enrolled to begin law school at St. Louis University in the fall.

Both of those careers would likely be put in jeopardy with a felony conviction on their record, Wampler said.

Duvel and Wirsig both made their own statements during the conference as well.

"We realize now in afterthought it was a really dumb thing to do, and we have a lot on the line," Wirsig said of taking "Teddie," as the couple named the puppy, from the shelter.

"The only reason we did it the way we did it was because we didn't want him to be neutered too young," Wirsig said.

"We went in there with the best intentions," Duvel said. "I guess after we figured out that not neutering Teddie wasn't an option, that just wasn't good with me, and I made an irrational decision to grab him and go."

Wirsig said they spoke to a veterinarian at Spring Valley Veterinary Hospital who told them that dogs should not be neutered before they are five or six months of age.

Wirsig said she'd also looked online and found "tons of research" that lined up with this view, and that the research said that neutering dogs earlier than six months, or in some cases a year, could result in a dog not reaching its full size, or a complete change in personality.

The website for the Spring Valley Veterinary Hospital, in an article titled "Pros and Cons of Spaying and Neutering in Dogs," states "Neutering is done most commonly at or around six months of age. However, many veterinarians perform this procedure earlier – as early as 8 to 10 weeks in some situations. Early neutering can be done safely and has a number of advantages, especially in cases of pet adoption."

The website for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also states that "while the traditional age for neutering is six to nine months, puppies as young as eight weeks old can be neutered as long as they're healthy."

"What would be an effective or a just punishment to let them go on with their lives?" Wampler said. "I don't know yet. I can't answer that question."

Passanise said he was hopeful the two do not face felony charges and that the charges could perhaps be amended to a misdemeanor.

"We're hopeful that not only the prosecutor's office, but the community, looks at them showing them a little grace," Passanise said. "Yes, they did something stupid, but let's see if we can rehabilitate them and not throw away the key."

Near the end of the press conference, Wampler said he'd personally called the director of the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri.

"Anything we can do to have Teddie, we'll do it. We'll make amends, we'll come out, we'll confess — anything at all that we can do to get Teddie, we'll do."

Wampler said the director's answer was fairly clear.

"It's not gonna happen."