Accused ties up his girlfriend’s service dog in a manner that exposes the dog’s genitals and then beats the dog with a piece of wood and newspaper, on her genitals and face, while he masturbates. The incident is not discovered until girlfriend accidentally finds the videos of the incident on his phone. Girlfriend immediately flees with the dog.
When accused discovers she has fled he attends her apartment and stabs a knife into the wall between her head and the head of her roommate.
Victim did not know of the dog incident at the time, there were minor scratches to the dog’s vulva but no significant injury
Accused had no criminal record but did subsequently breach by residing with his own service dog. Accused suffered PTSD and substance abuse
“[para 48] Aggravating of course, the pain and the trauma to the dog, we have the report and it is evident in the video for anyone to see and hear. There really is no need to be an expert to understand when this dog cries out.”
“[para 60] A clear message must be sent to denounce what he did to this dog. We, as a society, condemn gratuitous animal abuse. We do not view pets as simply property, but recognize them as living creatures. And recognize that for many people, they provide companionship and comfort. And in cases of service or therapy animals, their relationship often includes much more.”
SENTENCE: 8 ½ months total jail – almost 7 months for the animal charge, restitution and 5 year animal prohibition, 447.1 (this is despite him having his own service dog) 2 years probation