April 2003
Police in San Francisco, California, were alerted by neighbors to the smell of decay in an apartment five weeks after its resident moved out. Police found a dead dog in the closet. The owner had tied the dog up, closed him inside, and barricaded the closet door with a barbell. Neighbors told police they heard the dog barking three weeks after the owner admitted to abandoning the apartment. PETA had long conversations with the state’s attorney, who promised a vigorous prosecution. The prosecutor did win a conviction and the judge handed down a sentence of six months of jail time.
Read about what to do if you witness cruelty.
