Horrendous story out of Charleston sheds light on great need to stop animal abuse
William Leonard Dodson bought a Staffordshire pit bull mix named Diamond in 2015 – and thus began a dog’s torturous journey into hell.
Dodson, a convicted drug dealer who was on bail at the time for drug and weapons violations, had paid $20 for Diamond, then decided he could not stand her barking.
As he said later, “I had to do something. She wouldn’t shut up.”
He could have dropped her off at any Charleston-area animal shelter, but this was no ordinary dog owner.
Instead, he took a roll of black electrical tape and wrapped it, as tightly as he could, around her mouth.
Nine times he wrapped it, then chained her up before driving to Atlanta “to re-up his drug supply,” as prosecutors put it.
For 36 hours the dog suffered a nightmarish ordeal.
The tape cut off circulation to her nose; she bit her tongue severely struggling to get free.
Eventually, she broke her chain and ran off in utter terror.
A good Samaritan saw her and called police. She was near death when the tape finally was removed.
Workers at the Charleston Animal Society renamed her Caitlyn, and within days Caitlyn became an international rallying cry for anti-animal-abuse activists.
After several surgeries, she has recovered, physically, though she is still leery of men, according to the society. She is with a foster home and loves to play with the children.
And William Leonard Dodson?
He pleaded guilty two weeks ago and received a five year-sentence, the maximum allowed for animal abuse in South Carolina.
Judge Markley Dennis, in passing the sentence, had only one regret: “I wish I could give you more. I really do.”
Actually, Dodson is getting more. The day before sentencing on the dog-abuse charge, he was convicted in federal court on a weapons charge and sentenced to 15 years. The two sentences will run concurrently.
Judge Dennis, in giving the maximum, said he absolutely wanted to send a message to all potential animal abusers.
It’s a message that sorely needs sending.
There were 1,423 animal-abuse prosecutions in the U.S. in 2011, and most activists say that is a tip of the iceberg. Most abuse goes unreported.
The abused animals, according to the U.S. Humane Society, are mostly our domesticated pets – 70 percent of them are dogs, 20 percent cats.
And it’s almost impossible to sit here, watching our cat Bo and dog Wasabi curled up on the sofa, and realize that any person could be cruel to these most innocent of God’s creatures.
Contact Bob Bestler at bestler6@tds.net.
This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Horrendous story out of Charleston sheds light on great need to stop animal abuse."