Thread: Illegal not indicted in dog abuse case

See http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-19848-animal.html for initial report and photos of the mutilation done to the pup's ears and tail.


Man escapes indictment in dog abuse
Jacksboro's Little Joe
By Trish Choate/Times Record News
May 23, 2006


Little Joe, the Rottweiler puppy that was
found wandering around downtown Jacksboro
in early March with his ears and tail cut off,
is doing fine, according to is adopted mom, Keri Lane.

Animal lovers who helped rescue a severely mutilated Jacksboro puppy were disappointed a grand jury declined to indict a man suspected of animal cruelty against the dog.

Authorities discovered a Rottweiler puppy later dubbed "Little Joe" bleeding and wandering in downtown Jacksboro on March 8, his ears and tail hacked off. The dog's plight drew national attention and outrage at the man recently no-billed on both felony and misdemeanor charges.

"You couldn't print what I think about it," Carole Sanders of Animal Angels in Jacksboro said. "I don't know where all those outraged citizens are that were carrying on about it when it happened. They're the ones who no-billed him."

Although some had doubts Texas animal-cruelty laws would allow successful prosecution, 271st District Attorney Jana Jones vowed to present the case to Jack County grand jury.

Members of a grand jury recently no-billed Mauricio Toca Sosa, 24, on a felony animal-cruelty charge involving torture and a misdemeanor charge that Sosa failed to properly care for Little Joe after he was injured, Jones said.

Jones could not be reached Monday for comment.

The Jack County Sheriff's Office released Sosa last week to the Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation to Mexico, Kelvin Armstrong, jail administrator, said.

Sosa told authorities he was trying to crop the dog's ears when the puppy pulled away, so the man kept cutting at the dog's ears to make them look better, according to previous Times Record News reports. But Sosa told authorities the dog's tail was cut off before he got the puppy.

Keri Lane, who adopted the dog, said she thought authorities could at least win an indictment against Sosa for the misdemeanor charge.

"His ears were just awful," Lane said. "It's just hard to fathom that they couldn't even get him for not properly caring for his wounds. ... A lot of people don't look at animals as anything more than a piece of furniture."

Little Joe is doing well and has moved into the next phase of puppyhood - chewing, she said.

"He doesn't chew a lot, but if you leave him alone for any amount of time, you might find him chomping on somebody's shoe," Lane said. "He's a devil, but he's just precious."

Little Joe requires special care because his ear flaps were cut off, leaving him open to infections and other problems, according to previous Times Record News reports. But eventually, he'll go to a permanent home.

"I'm sure there's going to be an appropriate home sometime," Lane said. "We're not in any rush to shove him out the door."

Some contend the state's animal cruelty laws need an overhaul, but proposals to make that happened went nowhere in the last regular session of the Legislature.

Projects Writer Trish Choate can be reached at (940) 763-7533, (800) 627-1646, Ext. 533, or via e-mail at choatet(at)TimesRecordNews.com.

http://www.timesrecordnews.com/trn/loca ... 55,00.html

It is just going to get worse!