Richard OrlowskeDAYTON, Tenn. – Rhea County animal activist Richard Orlowske was greeted on Valentine’s Day not with flowers but with a half-inch-thick mattress on the floor of the county jail after his arrest that day on an animal cruelty charge.
“The way I’ve been portrayed right now, [I believe] there’s intimidation involved,” said Orlowske, who was released from jail Friday on $5,000 bond. “Once I’m vindicated, everybody will see.”
The charge against Orlowske, 57, stems from a search of his “Save My Tail” rescue, located off Back Valley Road in Evensville, Tenn., by Rhea County Sheriff’s Office personnel. They seized more than 30 dogs living on the premises, he said.
Detective Mike Owenby confirmed that Orlowske, a former volunteer at the Rhea County Animal Shelter and a disabled Vietnam veteran, was taken into custody and charged with animal cruelty based on “neglect, mostly, and lack of adequate food and shelter.”
Orlowske had been dismissed from his duties at the animal shelter in early December 2012 after an alleged confrontation with a dog owner on shelter property.