Animal abuse
Tim Carpenter Capital-Journal

Puppy's death spurs cruelty bills

Proposals would increase the penalties for animal abuse

The black puppy wagged his tail and licked the face of Heartland Animal Hospital manager Julie Breault.

But this wasn't a scene suitable for a Norman Rockwell painting.

The little dog, dubbed Magnum, was brought Aug. 1 to the Wichita clinic with wounds resulting from torture, she said. Patches of skin had been burned off with chemicals. Its front legs were wired together, cutting the flesh. One paw was stuffed into his mouth with suffocating effect. A leg was broken. Maggots squirmed in open wounds. He died five days later.

On Thursday, Breault came before the Senate Judiciary Committee to seek justice for Magnum.

"I want to give him a voice," she said. "He suffered terribly at the hands of these people. Make his life worth something."

No one has been charged with animal cruelty in the Wichita case, and if they are it would be a misdemeanor under state law.

Breault joined dozens of people in the room to request passage of Senate Bill 408, which would make each count of "intentionally or recklessly causing serious injury to any animal" a felony punishable with one year in jail.

Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, offered the committee an alternative --- Senate Bill 402 --- that would keep the crime a misdemeanor but limit the one-year sentence to first-time offenders. A second conviction would carry a term of 23 months in prison followed by three years of post-release supervision. Anyone convicted would submit a DNA sample to the state and be listed on Kansas' register of violent offenders.

Journey said his version "deals with the offenders in a more comprehensive way to give the courts the tools necessary to hopefully prevent future violent acts against human beings or animals."

Brian Withrow, professor of criminology at Wichita State University, said the legislation had implications for animals and their owners. He said research links animal abuse to future violent behavior. The BTK serial killer Dennis Rader, of Park City, strangled dogs and cats before turning on people. He was sentenced last year to 10 life terms for torture-murders of 10 people.

"I'm asking to recognize animal abuse for what it is --- a serious crime warranting a serious response," Withrow said. "And, second, to recognize animal abuse for what it can be --- an indicator of a tendency to engage in higher levels of extreme human victimization."

The committee didn't act on either bill, but public pressure is building in the House and Senate to adopt a reform bill.

"There are an awful lot of people out there that really love animals," House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said in an interview. "We're hearing from them."

Copyright 2006
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.


Source: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20060203/ai_n16228301

Hmm...no, I don't think I could handle the pictures. I had a hard time reading the description of what had been done to this poor puppy.
It's like the law they are trying to get passed in California. They want to make Pit Bulls illegal. And there was a bulletin that went through Myspace with pictures of Pit Bulls and Pit Bull puppies and people trying to stop this law from going into effect. I read that bulletin and cried. People never seem to never understand, there's no bad dogs, just bad owners!