9 Month Sentence For 2 Men Who Abused Dog
Judge Tom Felnagle had earlier found 19-year-old Troy Loney and 21-year-old Steven Paulson guilty of torturing an animal by tying the dog to a tree and then shooting it, perhaps 10 times, with a hunting bow and arrow before throwing the dog in a river.
Members of Pasado's Safe Haven demonstrated outside the courthouse, urging the judge to send the two men to prison for up to five years. One of the protesters, Helena Shelley, carried a sign which said, "Send them to Iraq" on one side, and "Shoot them with arrows" on the other.
Judge Felnagle told a packed courtroom that he could not sentence the two to more than one year in the county jail. He chose a sentence of nine months based in part on the two men's prior record.
Loney has past convictions for child molestation and failure to register as a sex offender. Paulson has three prior convictions -- two for burglary and one for forgery.
The judge suspended one month of the nine month jail sentences on the condition that the two complete an anti-cruelty treatment programs put together by the Pierce County Humane Society. He also sentenced them to 240 hours of community service at the animal shelter.
Susan Michaels of Pasado's Safe Haven termed the jail sentence, "far too short" and said she would go to Olympia to try to get penalties increased.
The woman who had demonstrated outside with the "Send them to Iraq" poster expressed deep concern that the two had been ordered to perform community service at an animal shelter. She said the judge might have meant well, but she didn't think it was wise. And a representative of the animal shelter said the shelter board might also reject that part of the judge's sentence.
Loney apologized to the court for his role in the killing of the stray dog. Paulson chose to say nothing.