Dog Owner Arrested for Cruelty
www.nynewsday.com
January 9, 2006, NEW YORK CITY --The 1-year-old pitbull-mix was chained a foot away from a red-hot heating pipe, his coat was scorched and his 27-pound frame cringed when animal control officers approached it.
Rescued at near death, Oreo was removed from the first-floor apartment in the Bronx's Edenwald Houses more than two weeks ago.
Sunday, as the pooch gained back its health at an ASPCA facility and prepared for a new home, its former owner became the first person of 2006 to face felony animal abuse charges.
Michael Delesline, 21, was arrested in the courtyard of the housing project and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, officials said. He faced up to two years in prison.
"It approached torture for this dog not to be able to sit or lie down next to this pipe," Special Agent Joe Pentangelo of the ASPCA said . "I don't know how long this dog could have survived."
Authorities who received an anonymous tip about the abused pooch did not pursue an arrest until laboratory exams revealed abuse, Pentangelo said. The tests showed that the dog, Oreo, was severely emaciated and had a broken rib but did not have underlying medical problems.
Although Delesline has not cooperated with authorities, Pentangelo said the dog was not fed in weeks and clearly was abused.
There were 72 arrests for animal cruelty in 2005, most of which were generated by anoymous tipsters calling the agency's hotline, 877-THE-ASPCA.
Pentangelo said that the timid black-and-white dog "cringes when you approach it" - a clear sign of trauma. But he added that the agency will determine if Oreo can be adopted in the next few weeks.
"He's hand-shy, but he has a good disposition," Pentangelo said.
