Dog Torture Suspect Caught

Tuscaloosa Animal Cruelty  U.S. Marshals arrested a Montgomery man accused of torturing his mom's pit bull because she wouldn't let him use her car. The dog was beaten with a shovel soaked with lighter fluid and set on fire.
by Associated Press
Published: Tue, September 25, 2007 - 12:41 pm CST Last Updated: Tue, October 02, 2007 - 8:56 pm CST
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - U.S. Marshals have arrested a
20-year-old Montgomery man accused of torturing his mother's pit
bull when she wouldn't let him use the family car.
Montgomery County Sheriff D.T. Marshall said Juan Daniels was
taken into custody today in Tuscaloosa and will be returned to
Montgomery to face felony animal cruelty charges.
Daniels is accused of tying the dog to a post, beating it with a
shovel, soaking it with lighter fluid and setting the canine on
fire September 7th. The dog, burned over 60 percent of its body,
survived and drew widespread concern and help with vet bills after
photos of it were posted on the Internet.
Workers at the Montgomery Humane Society shelter nicknamed the
dog "Louis Vuitton" in recognition of a Mobile dog nicknamed
"Gucci" after it survived being set afire in 1994. The Mobile
case led to passage of Alabama's "Gucci Law," which made it a
felony to torture a dog or cat.
Humane Society workers said Louis Vitton appears in good spirits
despite pain and wags his tail for visitors.
Under Alabama law, an animal cruelty charge carries a sentence
of one to 10 years in prison if convicted.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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big wow,  you should spend as much time on missing children and abused women and catching these thugs that rob people and your efforts would be better placed.

We seem to have the media on our side, now we need the politicians and law enforcement officials to take an aggressive stand on the matter of animal cruelty.  It’s criminal - the laws need to be stronger and the punishments harsher.  A fine is not going to deter some pathological animal abuser.  He or she will just do it again because they’re sick.  Just like pedophiles and rapists.

I hope that this case is not dropped.  This individual has serious psychological problems and should serve time in jail and undergo intense counseling.  We need tougher laws in the state of Alabama and more efficient cruelty reporting procedures.

Because most people have no compassion for other humans, much less a poor, helpless animal.  Just look at all the road rage that takes place.  We can’t even be courteous on the road anymore.  It doesn’t surprise me at all that animal abusers are the same ones that ride around with guns and drugs and abusing children.  Many people in our society are conditioned to be cruel - people - animals - it’s all the same.  Cruelty is cruelty.

Most animals are unconditionally loving. Why can’t the human animal be the same-our world would be a much better place.

He “wagged his tail for visitors”.  That says it all.  Despite the suffering the poor dog endured, he still wagged his tail in the presence of a human being.  They are so much more intelligent and compassionate than most human beings I know.  I have an acquaintance whose purse was snatched at gunpoint by two African Americans.  Ever since, she is terrified of black men.  But the poor dog, wags his tail when human visitors come to see him.  Yet a human beat and scorched him.  How forgiving an animal is.  They love us unconditionally.  What a shame that there are those in our midst that torture them.

A slap on the hand - then dump them back into society.  It is the same thing we do with rapists and pedophiles.  At least though, if you live in a neighborhood with a convicted child molester, you get a note taped to your door or tucked in your mailbox alerting you to the possibility of future offenses.  Wouldn’t it be nice if animal abusers had to wear a collar?  A collar that identified them as convicted animal criminals.  A shock collar would be even better.  Animal abuse and cruelty is a sickness - a disease, just like other mental deficiencies.  The primary difference is that it is a criminal offense.  That’s way different than washing your hands a hundred times a day.  A living being is harmed and often killed.

I am disappointed that such a light sentence can be given for animal cruelty. So you get 10 years max, then what you are released after 4 or 5 and back on the street to do the same or worse? I wonder if these people ever get psychological evaluation and if that would have a bearing on the sentence. Surely if someone is deemed a dangerous sociopath or whatever and capable of even further violence, they would not want that person back in society!

I wonder if our elected officials are aware of our #1 status-what a selling point for our county! Seriously though, this clearly indicates a major problem, something that needs to be addressed immediately and resolved. Animal abuse is often just the beginning of more violent crime-this nut in Montgomery could have just as easily torched his mother as well as the dog. How does he handle other anger issues-with a gun or knife? Would he set fire to his wife or children? This is truly sick.

If what savapet wrote about Stage Coach Road in the Spanish Fort area is true, the Spanish Fort police and the Baldwin County Humane Society need to investigate this.  Animal abuse, dog fighting and other cruelty acts often occur in tandem with criminal acts such as robbery, spouse abuse, drug use etc.  It sounds to me like this area should be investigated by the authorities in Baldwin county.  Our communities need to work harder to recognize and report animal abuse.  If we are truly number one in our state for animal cruelty cases, this does not say much for the Gulf Coast.  Be observant.  Report abuse and neglect.  I would like to know if anyone has investigated these reports about this area of Spanish Fort.

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