BRONX MAN CONVICTED OF AGGRAVATED CRUELTY FOR KICKING A DOG AFTER LOSING HIS TEMPER

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that a 22 year old Bronx man has been convicted of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals for kicking his dog, causing the animal’s bladder to rupture.

Alan Pena, of 765 Courtlandt Avenue, pled guilty to the unclassified felony offense that occurred in his apartment on November 5, 2001, when the dog urinated on the floor. Pena admitted that he had kicked the dog because he lost his temper. The defendant’s action violated New York State’s Agriculture and Markets Law.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Newman set sentencing for Thursday, April 4, 2002 in Part 44. Under terms of the plea agreement, Pena will be sentenced to five years probation and 200 hours of community service. Pena will also have to attend a court mandated anger management course and may not own any animal for five years. His injured dog, which is still under a veterinarians care, has been surrendered to the ASPCA for adoption.

Pena, after kicking the dog last November, directed his girlfriend to take the animal, a mixed breed Chow-German Shepherd, to the ASPCA’s Henry Bergh Memorial Hospital in Manhattan. According to the veterinarian who examined the dog, the animal was suffering from a ruptured bladder that was the result of a tear measuring four centimeters long. There was also bruising around the dog’s right kidney, fluid in the lungs and two liters of urinary fluid in the abdominal cavity, which had to be drained. The dog was in so much pain that it had to be sedated before the vet could even begin the examination.

The case against Pena is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kiran Vashishta of the Investigations Division.