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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

The case of State of Alabama vs. Cupid Seymour in the death of Karen Black’s dog, Chloe, came to an end as prosecutors found Seymour guilty of cruelty to animals on April 3. Seymour was found guilty of the Class A misdemeanor after the puppy died under his care at his dog training facility, Cupid’s Doghouse, in Verbena last year.

The events started on Sept. 28, 2024 when Black enrolled her four-month-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever puppy Chloe at a training program at Cupid’s Doghouse. Black dropped Chloe off and would be back to pick her up a few weeks later. However, on Oct. 19, 2024, she got a call that Chloe had passed away while at the training facility.

A necropsy was performed at Deerfoot Animal Clinic on Chloe which found that she passed away from gastric aspiration, or suffocation, and her gastrointestinal tract was completely empty. In three weeks at the facility, Chloe’s weight dropped 10 pounds from 31 to 21 pounds.

Seymour was arrested on Nov. 4, 2024 on animal cruelty charges but was bailed out shortly after.

The criminal case between the state and Seymour began on Jan. 30 when his attorney asked, and was granted, a continuance until April 3. During the trail on April 3, Seymour and Cupid’s Doghouse’s attorney said that Chloe consumed 35 pounds of dog food during her three-week stay — But the records of weight loss show that was not the case. Prosecutors in the case called a veterinarian in to testify to the amount of time it would have taken for there to be nothing in the GI tract of Chloe. The veterinarian said, in her opinion, this would take three to seven days to happen.

Additionally, prosecutors called two additional witnesses in to testify who were once clients of Seymour. They said Seymour told them to withhold food from their dogs for a number of days for training purposes while employees at Cupid’s Doghouse

“A pet is a member of a family and what happened to Chloe was devastating to the Black Family,” CJ Robinson, District Attorney 19th Judicial Circuit, said in a press release. “This was a senseless tragedy which was completely avoidable and will not be tolerated in our communities. Anyone who harms a defenseless animal must be held accountable for their lack of human decency and moral responsibility.”

Judge Chris Speaks handed down the sentencing that saw Seymour be found guilty of animal cruelty and sentenced to 365 days in jail with 180 days to be served and the remainder suspended for two years while on probation. Seymour will receive credit for time served, court records confirmed. Seymour was also fined $1,000, ordered to pay $3,500 in restitution to Black and must perform 50 hours of community service with the Chilton County Animal Shelter.