Puggle Abused, Owner Arrested

By on August 29, 2008 10:29 am in News
Flickr photo by Shelia Rose

Flickr photo of puggle breed by Shelia Rose

A BHB Tipster points us to an item on the ASPCA website about a Brooklyn Heights woman arrested on August 11 for misdemeanor animal cruelty.   Francesca Sullivan’s ex-boyfriend discovered their puggle ( pug/beagle mix; similar to the one in photo), Ditto, to be in an emaciated condition when he returned the apartment they had shared.  Concerned about the dog’s health, he brought it to “a nearby animal hospital” for an examination.   The ASPCA was called and began an investigation.

Ditto has been adopted and he’s almost doubled his weight.

“This is a pretty remarkable weight gain,” Dr. Robert Reisman, ASPCA Medical Coordinator of Animal Cruelty Cases tells ASPCA.org. “In the absence of any underlying medical problem that would contribute to the fluctuation, such significant growth in a short time period proved that Ditto had been starved in his previous home.”

Sullivan has relinquished ownership of Ditto.  She faces up to a year in jail and a $2000 fine.

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  • AEB

    Animal cruelty drives me insane!

    I once saw a guy kicking a puppy, and, before I realized the possible danger to me (and the dog), I dove at the guy–and I’m relatively small, and know zero-minus about self-defense.

    The man was so startled by my ostentatious belligerence, he simply stopped.

    The puppy ran away…and I ran after it. The twain never met.

    End of (self-congratulatory) drama. Except that, rather than feel good about it all, I felt miserable. For days.

    The effect of–what? Too much anger?

  • Jazz

    AEB you did more for a puppy than some “concerned” people say they’ve done when watching nannies abuse kids in yesterday’s story. Do people care more about dogs than kids? Seems that way.

  • AEB

    Jazz, has to do with identification, I’d say.

    Saving the vulnerable child within?

    And an outraged sense of inequality: domestic animals are almost always vulnerable in relation to those– humans–for whom the “default” position should be, in my opinion, care-taking.

  • Topham Beauclerk

    Jazz, you ask whether people care more about dogs than kids in exasperation that it might be so. Is it self-evident that one should care more about kids?

  • Jazz

    It’s not?

  • nabeguy

    The saddest thing about this story is that an innocent animal was used as a pawn in what sounds to be a human conflict. Makes you kind of wonder how far apart in terms of evolultion we really are.

  • Jazz

    Somewhere between Republicants and cro-mags if you ask me nabe.

  • nabeguy

    Now wait a minute, Jazz, McCain just tapped a woman as his VP, so things may be looking up.

  • Jazz

    A totally crackers insane wack job. Well done.

  • AEB

    Topham, it’s evident, in my opinion, that one should care about children AND animals, which often need our protection.

  • ABC

    Jazz, a lot of us confront a nanny when we see anything bordering on abuse. Still, complaining to the nanny about the nanny’s behavior makes very little difference.

  • Ditto’s Safe

    I remember Francesca and Ditto at Hillside Dog Park about 2 years ago. She struck me as ditsy and a bit screwed up in a Lolita type way. Very sad to hear she abused her dog. Glad Ditto is safe and with a good owner. He’s an adorable dog.