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SALT LAKE CITY -- Animal activists want people who abuse animals to face stiff fines.
Ann Davis, with The Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah, says the woman involved in a recent animal cruelty case got a slap on the wrist with a misdemeanor charge and a $200 fine.
"She caused this," says Davis. "This dog was probably outside on the side of her house for six to eight months."
This is not an animal issue, it's an issue of cruelty. It's an issue of violence and it needs to be treated as such.
–Ann Davis
The dog's name is Gringo, an 8-year-old English sheepdog. A neighbor called Salt Lake County Animal Services to rescue the animal. Veterinarians found a hole in Gringo's hip filled with maggots.
"Underneath his wet, matted coat were burns from his own urine," says Davis.
Gringo eventually died of pneumonia.
Davis says Dayra Miller doesn't feel responsible for the dog's death because it was her boyfriend's dog and it's ultimately his responsibility to pay for vet bills.
Davis says she and others will call on Utah lawmakers in the next legislative session to beef up Henry's Law, the anti-animal cruelty bill passed in 2008. She says it's not doing enough to send a strong message against animal cruelty.
"This is not an animal issue," she explains. "It's an issue of cruelty. It's an issue of violence, and it needs to be treated as such."
But Davis also says in order to make the case to add more to Henry's Law, everyone needs to be on the same page with enforcing the law.
"It does need to be revised, but it needs to be enforced," she explains. "There are cases all over the place that are not being enforced."
Meanwhile, Davis says Henry's Law should include other animals like horses or rabbits because in a down economy dogs and cats are not the only animals vulnerable to cruelty.
E-mail: niyamba@ksl.com
