Animal Abuse: Puppy thrown from third-story window - Pawtucket, RI

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Case ID: 14228

Classification: Throwing

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Puppy thrown from third-story window
Pawtucket, RI (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jul 27, 2008
County: Providence

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 1 files available

Alleged: Israel Gomez

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

A Chihuahua puppy is recovering after police said a man threw the dog from a third-story apartment window. Israel Gomez, 29, was arraigned and charged Monday with being a disorderly person and cruelty to animals.

"I've been here for 34 years and it seems the past four or five years, we've been investigating more and more animal cruelty cases," said Pawtucket animal control officer John Holmes. "What you can contribute that to - I don't know. But this was nonsense. This poor little dog�who in their right mind would take this animal and harm it?"

Neighbors told NBC 10 that the dog belonged to Gomez's girlfriend, who lives in the apartment with him as well as three young children.

"Usually the little Chihuahuas bark a lot, but (this one) hardly ever barked," said neighbor Roger Beausoleil. "It was a very, very friendly dog. I would go up to it and pet it."

The dog, named Honey, is currently at the Pawtucket Animal Shelter and is being checked out by the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is expected to be OK.

Police told NBC 10 that they are waiting until the investigation is over to return the dog to its owner.

Case Updates

In the end, it may have been her diminutive size that saved Honey. The four-month-old Chihuahua was allegedly thrown out the window of a third-floor apartment Sunday during an argument between a man and woman on Everett Street.

The man now faces animal cruelty charges.

Honey, who weighs all of 4 pounds, a third of the size of an average adult cat, was at the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in East Providence, yesterday, where she was given a second examination to check for injuries. Although subdued, she was walking around and managed to lick the face of director David Holden.

E.J. Finocchio, president of the RISPCA and one of the veterinarians who examined Honey, said it may have been her size that saved her, that a bigger dog would have hit the ground with more impact.

At around 3:40 p.m. Sunday, the Pawtucket police arrived at a three-family house at 80 Everett St. to find Israel Gomez, 29, yelling and screaming in the street. Candy M. Gonzalez, of 148 Central Ave., was also screaming. "You threw my dog out the � window," she screamed. An officer who walked to the front of the building found the tiny dog lying on the ground unable to move.

The police arrested Gomez, who lives at 80 Everett St., and charged him with unnecessary cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct for allegedly throwing the dog out the window.

Afterward, according to the police, an unidentified neighbor approached them crying and said, "He threw that dog out of the window. I watched that dog hit the ground and I thought it was dead."

Though the police gave a separate address for Gonzalez, the neighbor said that the woman lived with Gomez and that there had been constant problems since they moved into the Everett Street apartment, the police reported.

Both John Holmes, Pawtucket's animal control supervisor, and the police said they will continue to investigate.

"This could have been a lot more tragic. � God certainly was looking out for this dog. It's the sweetest dog I ever saw, just a nice little dog. We take this very serious. If you hurt an animal, we're coming after you," he said.

Holmes said that Honey was taken to a veterinary hospital, where she was examined and held overnight and then taken to the RISPCA.

Finocchio said Honey was being examined a second time because an injury may take a couple of days before it manifests itself. He said that Honey had some hemorrhaging in both the whites and retinas of her eyes. Also, when he gave a slight squeeze to the animal's tiny chest, she would whine and she was having trouble maneuvering her right front paw, he said.

"She is sort of subdued. That probably has a lot to do with her traumatic experience. She is away from her owner. She loves her owner despite what harm he may have done. Hopefully she doesn't have any internal injuries," he said.

Holden said that the RISPCA took custody of Honey because of the way the dog was treated and concern for the environment she was living in.

"To me it's not a safe environment for the dog. We are kind of DCYF for the animals. We're not going to allow the dog back until we are satisfied that it's going back to a safe environment or ordered to by a judge," Holden said.

Gonzalez was also arrested Sunday on unrelated charges.

She faces charges of felony assault, vandalism, simple assault, and making crank and obscene phone calls, according to the police.

Source: Providence Journal - July 30, 2008
Update posted on Jul 29, 2008 - 11:17PM

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Puppy thrown from third-story windowPawtucket, RI (US)

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Puppy thrown from third-story window
Pawtucket, RI (US)