Knoxville Man Charged with Aggravated Animal Cruelty
Nothing says “I am mad at you” like dragging someone’s defenseless dog behind your truck like an amateur water-skier. At least that was apparently the mindset of a Knoxville man who was arrested and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals after onlookers spotted him doing just that last Tuesday afternoon. One witness said that as many as twenty or thirty people were yelling at the man, who is ironically nicknamed “Dog,” to stop after noticing that he was dragging a small dog behind his truck on a street off of Middlebrook Pike, but the man refused to stop. When Mr. Dog finally came to a stop, he reportedly yelled at the onlookers, tossed the hapless animal into his truck, and drove off. The dog was later found abandoned by a business on Sutherland Avenue and is currently recuperating at the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine. There is no word on whether or not the accused gets to keep his nickname.
T.C.A. section 39-14-212 provides that someone commits aggravated cruelty to an animal when he or she, with aggravated cruelty and no justifiable purpose, intentionally kills or causes serious physical injury to a companion (non-livestock) animal. Aggravated cruelty is defined as that “which is done or carried out in a depraved and sadistic manner and which tortures or maims an animal, including the failure to provide food and water to a companion animal resulting in a substantial risk of death or death.” Intentionally dragging an animal behind your car seems to fit this definition pretty clearly. Violation of this statute is a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine not to exceed $3,000.00.
Police say that this offense usually occurs because an offender is angry at some individual and wants to get back at them by punishing that individual’s companion animal. However, Tennessee criminal law recognizes that individuals are often highly attached to such animals and imposes a harsh punishment on those who would seek to engage in such behavior. Clearly there are better ways to express your displeasure with someone than by torturing their pet. One could try a strongly worded letter or facial expression indicating disapproval for starters. There are also many alternatives to this type of behavior for expressing one’s displeasure with a companion animal. Although animal shelters and humane societies are overcrowded, they would certainly rather the animal be brought to them than treated in such a fashion. As a practical matter, these types of solutions should be explored as an alternative to committing an offense similar to the one described, which will ultimately lead to the offender facing serious jail time on a felony charge.
Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=103900&catid=141
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