Prison for man who starved dog to death

A JUDGE in Palma has ordered that a man sentenced to a year in prison for letting his dog starve to death serve the time.

In April 2013, the man’s brother reported that he had a starving dog tied up in the patio of a house in Palma. The Local Police rescued the pit-bull cross which had no chip or veterinary records and was completely underfed and uncared for. It was unable to get out of the sun or rain, and could hardly get up or move. It died three days later, despite being treated by a vet.

In May this year, the owner admitted to serious abuse of a domestic pet and accepted a year in prison. His sentence also banned him from working with animals for three years.

He claimed that he did not need to go to prison as he repented, but the judge said there was no proof of this and that it would be too easy to let him go free, allowing him to get another dog which may suffer the same fate. She also said it would set an example for others and therefore ordered that he do the time in prison. She refused his defence lawyer’s request to allow him to do community service instead.

He may still appeal the sentence, which is the second in Spain in which the accused may end up doing prison time. The other sentence was for a man who beat his horse to death in Manacor in 2012.