Suffolk County | STOP ANIMAL ABUSE

Dog with chain and cinder block around her neck is found in canal

September 19, 2014

By Penny Eims Dog News Examiner Subscribe Follow: September 19, 2014

Investigators in Suffolk County, New York, are trying to determine if foul play is behind the death of a dog who was found floating in a canal off of Long Island on Thursday morning, reported NECN News.

A West Islip resident made the troubling find and reached out to the local animal control for help.

Body of dog found in canalEims

The dog, described as an adult, female Rottweiler mix, had a chain and cinder block attached to her neck; a necropsy will be done to see if the dog was dead or alive when she was placed into the water.

Investigators with the Suffolk County SPCA hope to determine if the dog was intentionally drowned, or if it was an attempt for an “at sea” burial.

Aside from the disturbing items found on the dog’s body, there were no other obvious signs of trauma.

News Link:-http://www.examiner.com/article/dog-with-chain-and-cinder-block-around-her-neck-is-found-canal?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Body Of Dog Chained To Cement Block Found In Long Island Canal (newyork.cbslocal.com)
Dead dog discovered in water, tethered to cinder block (examiner.com)
Body of dog tied to cinder block found in canal (abcactionnews.com)
Dog found dead in lake with cinder block tied to neck (wcvb.com)

First U.S. Animal Abuser Registry Makes Convicts Public

May 9, 2012

“YES….RESULT…NAME & SHAME THOSE THAT ABUSE…ALL COUNTY’S, CITIES ETC. SHOULD GET THESE REGISTERS UP & RUNNING…WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW IF THERE IS AN EVIL ANIMAL ABUSER LIVING NEXT TO ME!! “

Monday, Suffolk County activates the first animal abuser registry in the United States, which will make public the identities of convicted animal abusers. The internet registry will display their names, addresses and photographs.

The law requires pet stores, breeders and animal shelters to check the registry and not sell or adopt animals to anyone on it, according to the Animal Law Coalition. Abusers will stay on the registry for five years each, and will face jail time or fines if they do not sign up for and renew their registrations throughout that period.

The Coalition reports that in Suffolk County, “animal abuse” includes animal fighting; overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failing to provide proper sustenance; aggravated cruelty to animals; abandoning animals; interfering with or injuring certain domestic animals; and harming a service animal.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is leading a nationwide effort to pass more laws like Suffolk County’s. If registries like this were widespread, they could make a real difference in preventing animal cruelty. Without them, convicted animal abusers, including hoarders, can easily evade court sentences forbidding them from owning animals by moving to a different county or state. Nationwide registries would make it much harder for them to acquire new animals just by changing their location.

Registries like Suffolk County’s could also prevent crimes that hurt humans. A person who abuses or kills animals is five times more likely to commit violence against humans and four times more likely to commit property crimes, according to a Business Week report on a 1997 study by Northeastern University and the Massachusetts SPCA.

Other counties and states have considered similar registries and some plan to implement them, but last February Colorado voted down a law to create one. Objections to the registries include concerns about the civil rights of animal abusers and the possibility that exposure to the public will make offenders even less likely to cooperate with authorities that otherwise might be able to keep them from harming other animals. (“Animal abusers don’t deserve civil rights!”)