OH12: Officer responding to a mistreated dog call could walk to fence and look through then seize dog on exigency

An officer responded to an animal abuse complaint of a maltreated dog in defendant’s backyard. He parked in the driveway and walked to the door to inquire. No answer. He could see a fence with a missing board from the driveway and walked over and could see the dog in the yard. The entry to seize the dog was justified by exigency. The entry into the curtilage was the same license as anyone. “To the limited extent that appellant argues the warrantless seizure of the dog violated his Fourth Amendment rights, that argument also lacks merit. We recognize that even if an object is in open view, its ‘seizure cannot be justified if it is effectuated “by unlawful trespass.”’ Collins v. Virginia, ___ U.S. ___, 138 S.Ct. 1663, 1672 (2018). The warrantless seizure must be justified by one of the established exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. State v. Braxton, 12th Dist. Warren No. CA2019-03-019, 2020-Ohio-424, ¶ 14.” State v. Neanover, 2021-Ohio-540, 2021 Ohio App. LEXIS 565 (12th Dist. Mar. 1, 2021).