By Barry Sims
WBALTV
HAVRE DE GRACE, Md. — Released from the Harford County Detention Center at 5 a.m. Thursday, Mary Root retrieved her dogs from the Havre de Grace home where she’s lived for over 40 years.
The 81-year-old great-grandmother and her pets are currently staying at her daughter’s apartment in Cecil County.
“I guess I feel broken – the hurt -- because I never committed a crime in my life,” Root said. Root was arrested Tuesday and held without bond after she failed to appear in court Feb. 12. She said she had planned to go to court to defend herself but was too sick.
The seven charges against her are all dog-related, accusing her of letting her animals get loose and run at large. The court received a doctor’s note the day before the hearing, but Judge Mimi Cooper ruled it was insufficient and issued a bench warrant. A later note gave more details. Root has suffered from cancer and other ailments. She described what it was like getting arrested at her home and taken to jail.
“They started to fingerprint me, and I started to really feel bad because I thought, ‘My God. What did I do?’” Root said.
Full story: Harford County great-grandmother released from jail