Nathan App was sentenced in Montgomery County Court in Pennsylvania to five years of probation and 60 hours of community service after trying to drown a woman’s dachshund in a backyard swimming pool.
Under a plea agreement, App, 20, of Douglass Township, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals.
“His conduct was disgusting. It was a small, helpless dog. He was basically torturing the dog by repeatedly dunking the dog in water and dragging it by its leash in the water,” Assistant District Attorney Abby Silverman said of the July incident.
Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered App to undergo a psychological evaluation, and prohibited App from owning any animals, according to an article in the Delaware County Daily Times.
App apparently has a history with the dog’s owner — a previous court order had prohibited him from having any contact with her. Apparently, her dog was another matter.
The dog’s owner, who rushed the dog to a veterinarian for treatment after the incident, told police she was alerted to the attempted drowning by her neighbors who had witnessed the cruelty.
Two neighbors reported they observed App pull the dog by a leash into the pool area and then throw the dog into the water, according to the arrest affidavit. One witness claimed App tossed the dog into the air and watched the dog land in the pool, then repeatedly dunked the dog under the water.
Neighbors yelled at App and he pulled the dog out of the water, police said.
The dachshund survived.
(WARNING: This video is graphic and disturbing)
A man in Lithuania who arranged to have himself filmed throwing a dog over the side of a bridge — and then posted the video online — was forced to turn himself in today after internet groups tracked him down and outed him.
The video, posted on Lithuanian websites, quickly spread across the Internet, prompting Facebook groups and others to call for him to be brought to justice.
The film, which appeared to have been taken from a mobile phone, showed the man carrying the dog to the side of the bridge. He speaks to the camera, making jokes about the videotaping, and how it will prove dogs can fly, while the dog rests calmly in his arms. Then he nonchalantly drops the dog over the side of the bridge.
The dog survived the fall and its whimpers can be heard on the video.
Outraged viewers on Lithuanian websites and international sites such as Reddit.com chased after the man’s identity, and police, with help from web users, determined the dog was dropped from a bridge in the Vilkija district in the city of Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania.
Police said a website they identified as www.15.min.lt was instrumental in identifying the man as Svajunas Beniuk.
The dog was rescued, received treatment for multiple fractures and internal injuries and was expected to survive. Beniuk was expected to be charged with animal cruelty, according to MailOnline.
The operator of the Almost Heaven dog kennel has withdrawn his guilty pleas to animal cruelty charges, choosing instead to stand trial in Lehigh County Court in Pennsylvania.
Judge Robert L. Steinberg, who was scheduled to sentence Derbe “Skip” Eckhart , instead approved his request to withdraw guilty pleas that had been entered in court on Sept. 22. The judge ordered Eckhart’s bail increased to $25,000 and ordered him to stop working as a dog groomer pending the outcome of the trial, according to the Allentown Morning Call. “Your employment involving animals is now at an end,” the judge said.
Eckhart’s, who has prior animal cruelty convictions from 1988 and 1993, is facing four new counts in connection with the operation of Almost Heaven Kennel in Upper Milford Township. The kennel was shut down in June following mounting complaints and dog law violations, and more than 200 dogs were seized.
When the trial does take place, it’s a safe bet the American Kennel Club won’t be testifying on his behalf.
According to a letter the AKC sent to the Lehigh County Probation Department, the non-profit organization has suspended his membership — three times.
The letter, as reported by columnist Bill White in his blog for the Morning Call, recounts that the AKC initially suspended Eckhart in 1988 after his conviction animal cruelty conviction, then extended the suspension to 25 years after learning in 1994 of another conviction in 1991. In May 2002, the AKC received information that Derbe Eckhart had sought the AKC seal of approval under the name ‘Skip’ Eckhart.
Upon learning he had managed to circumvent the suspension, the AKC took Eckhart to court, where an order was issued prohibiting him from claiming any affiliation with the AKC. He was also ordered to pay AKC $8,910.21, but has not done so, the letter said.
A 3-month-old puppy burned and left for dead in a park in North Carolina has — amazingly — recovered and is soon to be adopted.
Meanwhile, her former owner, Lashawn Whitehead, made a court appearance yesterday — the first since he was jailed in Greensboro on felony charges of animal cruelty and “burning personal property.”
Whitehead’s mother told the Greensboro News & Record yesterday that her son was afraid the puppy might harm his newborn child.
The dog, since named Susie, was found in Greenfield Park with burns covering more than 60 percent of her body. A pit bull-shepherd mix, had a broken jaw, broken teeth and second and third degree burns on her head, back, stomach, tail and legs.
Veterinarians estimated she had been laying in the park for weeks, based on her body being infested with maggots.
The dog has had extensive treatment for her injuries and is expected to be adopted soon.
“We are really impressed and amazed at how she’s recovering,” said Marsha Williams, director of the Guilford County Animal Shelter.“We didn’t think it would happen this quickly.”
Sixty people have signed up to adopt the puppy, the Greensboro News & Record reported in October.
Long Island authorities are continuing their investigation of a woman in Selden whose back yard contained the buried remains of at least 20 dogs.
Sharon McDonough, 43, has been charged with animal cruelty, WCBS-TV reported.
“This is one of the worst cases of animal abuse I have seen in the last 25 years I have been doing this,” Chief Roy Gross, of the Suffolk County SPCA, said.
It all started Thursday, when a local rescue group contacted police about conditions at the house. When authorities arrived, they found five dogs crammed in small cages. By Saturday, police were digging up the backyard.
Investigators are looking into complaints about animals disappearing from the neighborhood, and allegations that McDonough tortured, killed, and buried them behind her house.
McDonough remained free Sunday night after pleading not guilty, but authorities say she could face more serious charges after investigators determine how the animals buried in the backyard died.
The live animals recovered from McDonough’s home, including several dogs and a cat, are doing fine. They are currently up for adoption at the Suffolk County SPCA.
