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Comes down to he said/she said and the law it appears is on her side since the police are standing behind the arrest (of course that could be to save face and prevent a lawsuit). However, her stating he stole the dogs for resale might be just enhancing the story...maybe. I personally would want more proof of that statement.
Hard to tell in the photo the guy took, but the dog does not look in distress. And if the owner did just chain him for a few minutes to run to the store, he deserves time in jail for trespassing and theft.
As for a neighbor who said they called animal control three times...well, neighbors can be neighborly and they can be terrible. So, until more is known about the neighbor's relations with the owner of the dog...I would leave their statements out.
Only thing that appears to be certain is the guy went into a private backyard, unchained a dog and took him to his house. If I was on the Jury, and that is all there is that can be verified...I would easily say guilty. If the guy had just busted in into the yard and gave the dog water, he might still be technically guilty of trespass, but I would most likely vote to acquit based on my belief in Jury Nullification.
I'm sure Steve had the best interests of the dog at heart, but I'm afraid he didn't think it through completely. Bringing the dog some water to the dog would have been a far more reasonable thing to do, regardless of how angry he was at the chain. If he's been an animal advocate for as long as stories have reported, he should be aware that there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, he chose the wrong way and placed himself in the position of being seen as a thief, not a dog savior.
I wish Steve could just apologize for his zeal and the neighbor could agree not to chain the dog in the future. Win/Win for everyone, including the dog. There are so many other cases of brazen animal cruelty that could be addressed, but so much time and resources are being sucked up by this case. :-(
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