Andrea Rosebrock 
Finally! A judge who takes animal cruelty to heart and shows that he mean business. Now why can we have more judges like this? It is so past time for the law to get serious about animal abuse!
An incredulous judge sentenced a man to three years in prison for tossing a 10-week-old puppy off an apartment balcony during an argument with his girlfriend.
The puppy was in a soft-sided container, suffered head injuries and had to be put to death.
Javon Patrick Morris, 22, apologized for throwing the puppy off the balcony last March and pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.
“You mean he threw a helpless animal off three floors because he was mad at someone?” Circuit Judge Edward Cottingham asked a prosecutor before sentencing Thursday.
The judge, who has owned nine dogs, said he was obligated to issue a tough sentence.
“There is nobody in this world that can understand that,” Cottingham said.
He sentenced Morris to five years, suspended to three years in prison and two years of probation. He also ordered Morris, who will be eligible for parole in 20 months, to get anger management counseling.
“I’ve got to send a message to all dog lovers that we are going to protect that interest in our courtrooms,” Cottingham said. (My Fox Philadelphia)
There is a god!!!!
Now if only we could get more judges like this!! I applauded this sentence and there have been so few!
Heck yeah! Gooooo judge!
This site is the most depressing site I read. But, it makes me want to find a way to stiffen penalties for animal cruelty. If the consequences are not high, then more people will do it. If the consequences are harsh, then less people would commit them.
I argued with my roommate last week about this. He didnt think someone should get a few years in jail for killing an animal. I told him if he took away my FRIEND after years of companionship, he deserved more than a slap on the wrist. It is despicable.
I had a question. If I had a dog who I spent tons of money on at the vet (Like my Porter), spent tons of money training, and tons of money on food/toys and someone killed him, can I sue that person in civil court for monetary damage to my investment? I know that sounds like I am objectifying a pet, but if I can’t hurt them criminally maybe I could hurt them monetarily? Don’t forget pain and suffering and all my medical bills from therapy.
Jason, I agree with you completely. Sadly, the law does not take all this into consideration. Pets and animals are ‘mere possessions’ and treated as such.
Next time you have this discussion with your roommate, ask him if he knows about the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence. Every serial killer started as an animal abuser. Animal abuse is one of the greatest precursors to future violence and if abusers can be caught and punished, severely punished, early, it may just curtail that future violence.
Most people who abuse animal have also been shown to abuse others; spouses, partners, children. If someone is enough of a coward to harm an innocent and defenseless animal, what or who comes next? There are many reasons to take animal abuse very, very seriously and not only because of the harm it does to animals. Although to me this is enough.
And yes, I do know this site can be depressing and sad but I want to make people angry and upset enough to take action. I do try to occasionally balance it with some happy stories and humor tho.
Thanks for reading and caring!
Deanna