Andrea Rosebrock 
This is the sad and sick story of a Cornell student who viciously abused a dog by beating it and pouring bleach on it. The dog, Princess, a 30lb Lab-pit mix, will suffer the effect of this for the rest of her life!
Alexander H. Atkind
Read the story from The Ithaca Journel
Cornell student charged with torturing animal
Man allegedly beat, poured bleach on dog
From Journal Staff Reports – ITHACA – A 23-year-old Cornell student from the Boston area, taking care of another person’s dog for a night, was charged with beating it and pouring bleach on it, leaving it with diminished eyesight for life, the Ithaca Police Department said.
Alexander H. Atkind, 23, of 710 Stewart Ave., Apt. 8 and of Lexington, Mass., was charged with “overdriving, torturing and injuring animals” in violation of a section of the state Agriculture and Markets law. The offense is a misdemeanor. He was released with a ticket to appear in Ithaca City Court on Wednesday, March 21.
According to an Ithaca police report, the case began when the owner of the dog contacted the police department at 4 a.m. Saturday, March 10. The dog’s owner told the investigating officer he’d left his dog, later identified as a black-and-white, 30-pound Labrador-pit bull mix named Princess, in the care of Atkind while spending Thursday night, March 8, at a family member’s house.
On Friday, March 9, the dog’s owner talked to Atkind on the phone, who said the dog had chewed on a speaker wire Atkind owned. Atkind told the owner he’d beaten Princess, and poured bleach and laundry detergent on her, but the dog was all right. Late Friday, the owner came home and found the dog severely beaten and called police.
The officer found the apartment and kennel area in disarray, with dog food, bleach and detergent spilled. The dog had a laceration 1 inch by 2 inches wide, and some of its skull was showing through, according to the officer’s report. He called the Cornell University veterinary hospital and took the dog there for evaluation. The next day, he was told by the attending veterinarian that the dog suffered chemical burns to its face, eyes, back, groin area and paws. It would likely have diminished eyesight the rest of its life, and it had blood in its stool, probably from ingesting some bleach by licking itself.
The officer called Atkind, who admitted beating the dog, and agreed to come talk further at police headquarters, according to the police report. There, he was formally charged but refused to speak further without an attorney present. He was given a ticket for city court and released.
The officer noted in his report that Atkind acted “cocky and arrogant” and “made numerous comments that this incident meant nothing to him, that he would do it again, and that he knows how the criminal justice system works, and guaranteed me the prosecution of this case would result in an ACD in City Court.” The reference is to an “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal,” in which a judge typically tells a defendant to stay out of trouble for a period of time and the case will be dismissed.
The case drew the attention of the Tompkins County SPCA, which sent out a press release saying that, according to a 1997 study done by the Massachusetts SPCA and Northeastern University, animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people and four times more likely to commit property crimes than individuals without a history of animal abuse.
Princess is recovering, and has been treated at the veterinary hospital, according to Tompkins County SPCA Executive Director Abigail Smith. She was heading home with her owner Thursday afternoon, Smith said.
Originally published March 16, 2007
You can find more information on Atkind at the Cornell Blog-An unofficial blog about Cornell University. Seems Atkind has never been what you might call a ‘model student’ of member of our society…..
[...] can find some of the background on the case here, but basically this sick twisted individual beat and poured bleach on a 30lb lab mix dog named [...]
[...] first brought you the story of Alex Atkind and Princess in back in April after he’d been charged with torturing an animal for a crime he committed on about March [...]
Cruelty to animals is a precursor to violence towards fellow humans. Put this dangerous troglodyte behind bars where he belongs. Or do us all a favor and kill him.