Every time I read of another story of animal cruelty inflicted by so-called loving owners, I wonder when or if the abuse will ever end. Today I'd like to tell you of a pit bull in Yuma, Arizona who was starved by it's owners.

The case began with a "loose animal" call placed to HSOY (Humane Society of Yuma) Animal Control Sgt. Aaron Acton on Saturday, October 30 reporting a dog was running loose in the 4700 block of 19th Avenue. Upon responding to the call, Action discovered three pit bull dogs inside the home of Joseph and Rose Moreno of Yuma. Of the three dogs confined inside the house, one was the dog in question. All were underweight.

At this time Sgt. Action heard barking in the back yard. When he investigated the source, Action discovered a severely emancipated pit bull chained without food or water. The emanciated dog, which weighed 43.5 lbs (a normal pit should weigh 75 lbs) was too dehydrated and weak to stand and had to be humanely euthanized because of it's condition.

In a statement made to KWST News 13, the Humane Society of Yuma verified the above information.

Joseph Moreno of Yuma, Arizona have been arrested and charged with two felony animal cruelty and two misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty. Rose Moreno may be facing the same charges after the case is reviewed by the Yuma County attorney. None have been filed at the time of this report.

The Humane Society of Yuma would like to remind everyone to report cases of suspected animal abuse to their office or to the police.

I will keep the readers here informed of any updates in the case.

Cases almost identical to this one are popping up all over the United States. This is a very serious crime and I hope everyone agrees with me that stricter penalties need to be enacted into law to punish these offenders.

I hope each of the readers here will do their part in signing petitions and supporting groups that can make the state laws tougher. Not just in Arizona. Every state in our nation should consider animal abuse/animal cruelty a felony with mandatory jail time of more than just a pat on the wrist for torturing or killing a helpless animal. Many states have a maximum of less than a year imprisonment.  This is NOT a deterrent for an abuser.

I began this petition a few months ago to demand a National Registry for Animal Abusers and it is far short of the signatures I feel it should have. This is my first step in stopping animal cruelty. I hope you sign this petition and pass it on to friends.

Thank you all for your support. I appreciate the comments, although I do get a little behind sometimes in replying to each of them.

Elisa

Elisa Black-Taylor is a regular contributor to pictures-of-cats.org


http://www.yumasun.com/news/dog-65110-yuma-acton.html
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/16749/AZ/US/

Related hubpages articles

Changing The Image Of The Pit Bull Breeds

Also 2 cases of abuse by dog owners

Dog Breeder Murdered 93 Dogs

Small Town Epidemic: Animals Abandoned And Left To Die