Two years ago, I wrote an unusually profane and venomous post, even for me. Buju, a dog I worked with at the Animal Rescue League in Pittsburgh, had been murdered by its adopter, who proceeded to cut off its paw and then attempted to decapitate it. Having known this dog personally, the entire situation infuriated me beyond belief. (Fortunately, I had plenty of commenters who reminded me it was “only a dog.”)
This week, the guy was sentenced to 5-10 years for a weapons charge related to the crime: because he was already on probation for federal gun charges, it was illegal for him to be in possession of the firearm he used to kill Buju. The judge opted not to include any additional time for the animal cruelty charge, which in my mind is akin to admitting that it didn’t matter.
Thus, by that logic, it’s fair to say that in Pittsburgh you can shoot a dog in the torso, saw off its paw, try to saw off its head, give up halfway through and dump the whole mutilated body in a garbage bag and, as long as you legally own the gun you used to shoot it, everything’s all right.
Given that, I’m surprised the Steelers didn’t sign Michael Vick.
Tags: dogs, legal, personal, Pittsburgh
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sweetney
