There have been several instances where people have been charged with animal cruelty and abuse for starving, mistreating and not taking care of their pets. An example from November 2013 - a puppy named Heaven, was left in her house to starve, with skin infections, burn marks and other evidence of mistreatment, before she was brought to an animal hospital and saved. Her owners only got a few visits to community service and a slap on the wrist. Many owners have left their pets outside in the freezing weather, leading to horrible conditions, freezing and frostbite injuries. Others have starved their animals, used them for fights, stuffed them in trunks of their cars to fight to death, tossed them out, and killed them and virtually got the same punishment.
Animals cannot speak for themselves, so we need to speak out for them and help them find justice for those who mistreat them. If you mistreat a child and get punished, no reason why you should not get the same punishment for mistreating a pet. To many of us, pets are our children and our hearts go out and bleed for them when they are hurt.
Please increase punishment for dog fighting, animal cruelty, abandonment and abuse. Please change the crime from a misdemeanor to a real felony with jail time and fines, and impose indictments upon those who intentionally abuse, abandon and hurt their animals.
The laws in New Jersey need to provide harder punishments, higher than misdemeanors, for those who abuse and neglect animals. Just as Senators Munoz and Dancer have proposed their bills for improvement in animal rights and harsher punishment for those engaged in animal cruelty, we need to speak out for those who cannot speak out for themselves.
Please help us pass LAWS that will bring all these horrible individuals to justice. By coming together and creating the right set of laws, we can hold those individuals accountable for their actions.
Update #310 years ago
Thank you for all of your support with our petition! During this Valentine's Day, we wanted to express our gratitude for your support and caring.
We are fundraising money for a 5 month old puppy that was a victim of severe dog fighting. He was used as bait. We would appreciate any help - no amount you contribute is too small! Please pass it to your family and friends as well: http://www.gofundme.com/6r70sc
Please contact us and we will be glad to help!
Update #210 years ago
Please educate your loved ones about animal cruelty and how we can stop it!
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/la-boy-arrested-abusing-puppy-video-article-1.1603642
Update #110 years ago
Thank you everyone for supporting this petition! I appreciate your help and would like to let you know that I am personally reaching out to local media and government entities so our voices can be heard. Together, we can make a difference.
We have a second petition going for the same cause on another site:
http://www.change.org/petitions/rep-robert-andrews-increase-punishment-for-dog-fighting-animal-cruelty-abandonment-and-abuse#news
I thank all of you for your support.
