LI dog abuse case fuels move to statewide registry
Miss Harper, a 7-month-old pit bull whose ears and hind right leg were cut off in an act of animal cruelty, is seen at a news conference in Huntington on Jan. 31, 2014. Credit: Brittany Wait
An assemblyman is pushing for a statewide animal abuse registry following a Long Island case in which a veterinary aide without a license received no jail for amputating a dog's leg.
A week ago, a former veterinary aide who had cut off the hind leg of an abused dog at an Elmont animal hospital was sentenced in a Mineola courtroom to 3 years' conditional discharge. The aide wasn't convicted of animal abuse, but pleaded gulty to operating on the pit bull mix without a license.
Assemb. James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) on Friday called for action on a bill already introduced in the legislature to create an animal abuse registry. It would be similar to the sexual abuse data base that carries the names and photos of those convicted of sexual abuse crimes. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore).
It's not exactly clear what led to Miss Harper's leg and ears being cut off, but the judge said the veterinary aide wasn't the abuser.
State Supreme Court Justice Angelo Delligatti said he "abhorred" what happened to the dog but gave the defendant "slight credit for the fact that you were not an abuser of the animal.”
Tedisco disagreed. He and animal activists said the case was bungled.
"Sadly, we can have the toughest laws in the world, but clearly those who are charged with enforcement of the laws and penalties are failing our animals," Tedisco said Friday.
The dog has since been adopted by a Long Island family.
Nassau County is among few counties to have created countywide animal abuse registries.
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