Animal Cruelty

GLENDALE — Local animal shelter officials said they support a potential state law that would create an online registry of animal abusers. While local cases of extreme animal cruelty are rare, they are not unheard of. A former employee of the Glendale Humane Society in 2002 was ordered to serve three years’ probation after pleading no contest to felony animal cruelty charges. Police said they discovered about 200 animals at his home, several of them dead. In 2004, a Burbank woman was ordered to serve probation after a court found her guilty of animal cruelty for keeping 230 Chihuahuas and 60 birds in her home.

The ongoing drama over Glendale's elephant-themed float for the Tournament of Roses Parade continued on Tuesday, with the builder of the design calling criticism from animal rights activists unfair. Last week, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals organized a handful of protesters who waved signs in front of City Hall that said “Sink the Circus Float.” The protest came a few weeks after a resident likened the float to a symbol of animal cruelty. But on Tuesday, Chris Lofthouse - president of Phoenix Decorating Company, the Pasadena firm that has built Glendale's Tournament of Roses float for nearly two decades - said the critiques were based on an unfair interpretation of the design.

PASADENA - A 47-year-old Glendale man was sentenced Tuesday to serve 16 years to life in prison for killing his wife and microwaving his Pomeranian to death. Jurors found John Levin guilty of second-degree murder in June for killing his 35-year-old wife, Michelle Levin, after he pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty for microwaving his dog. “I am told that it is a sin to not forgive and to harbor vengeance in your heart,” Michelle Levin's father, Frank Raymie, told Levin in a Pasadena courtroom.

Glendale Police are looking for someone who stabbed a dog to death and put it in an unlocked car. A man told police he left his car unlocked and with a window down in the 3700 block of Fourth Avenue on Monday and returned to find a dead Rottweiler in his driver's seat, according to the police report. Someone had stabbed the dog several times. It was not known whose dog it was. "[The victim] did not know the owner or the dog," Glendale Police spokeswoman Officer Leticia Chang said.

Tim Willert LOS ANGELES -- A judge rejected a plea agreement in the embezzlement case against a former Glendale Humane Society worker Tuesday, saying prosecutors needed to further investigate allegations of what she described as "sickening" acts of animal cruelty. Gerald Gracian, a former pet adoption counselor, was charged with embezzling more than $3,000 from the shelter. The alleged embezzlement occurred over a seven-month period, from December 2000 to July of this year.

Throughout 2011, the Glendale News-Press was riddled with articles regarding the Rose Parade float selected for the city of Glendale. It was difficult for the funding to be pulled together, and there was strong opposition against the theme. At the time, it seemed to me a lot of people were upset about what was selected. However, no one stepped up to be a part of the selection committee to begin with. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals even stepped in to claim that the float represented animal cruelty.

A 46-year-old Glendale man was sentenced today to 16 years to life in prison for killing his wife and microwaving his Pomeranian to death. John Levin was found guilty of second-degree murder last month after he pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty for microwaving his dog. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge today also sentenced Levin to 8 months in prison for the animal cruelty charge. Levin was arrested attempting to cross the Canadian border days after the body of his 35-year-old wife, Michelle Levin, and the dog were discovered Sept.

A 42-year-old Glendale woman faces animal cruelty charges after she stabbed her Shiba Inu dog multiple times around its eyes while she was high on cough syrup, authorities said. Merry Jane Clift pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one felony count of animal cruelty after the alleged attack on her dog, “Huckleberry,” on Dec. 28, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. The dog, which is in stable condition and “doing quite well,” is under quarantine at the Pasadena Humane Society, where the eye wounds were treated, spokeswoman Ricky Whitman said.

At first glance, the proposed animal cruelty database seems like a case of governmental overreach. The idea of putting people convicted of abusing Fluffy or Mittens on a publicly accessible website looks a lot like a modern version of the pillory — and in a way, that seems to be part of the point. But at the same time, there is no denying that people are among us who will actively abuse, or passively neglect, animals. There is also no denying that such people should be kept away from owning and caring for pets.

Once full of life and vigor, Cabo the cat now spends his days curled up in the corner, his spirits nearly as battered as his left eye -- the result of an alleged Aug. 20 attack by a neighbor. Now police and the district attorney's office are trying to decide what to do with the man charged with attacking Cabo, a seal-point Himalayan. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has gotten involved, lobbying District Atty. Tony Rackauckas to impose the maximum penalty on the alleged animal abuser.

A 42-year-old Glendale woman was banned from owning any pets while on probation after pleading no contest to allegedly stabbing her Shiba Inu dog multiple times while high on cough syrup, officials said. Merry Jane Clift was sentenced on Thursday to 28 days in jail after being given credit for time already served for the alleged attack on Dec. 28, according to Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Patrick Hegarty also ordered Clift to serve three years of formal probation.

A 42-year-old Glendale woman faces animal cruelty charges after she stabbed her Shiba Inu dog multiple times around its eyes while she was high on cough syrup, authorities said. Merry Jane Clift pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one felony count of animal cruelty after the alleged attack on her dog, “Huckleberry,” on Dec. 28, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. The dog, which is in stable condition and “doing quite well,” is under quarantine at the Pasadena Humane Society, where the eye wounds were treated, spokeswoman Ricky Whitman said.

The California Assembly is currently considering Senate Bill 1221, legislation to outlaw the archaic and cruel practice of chasing bears and bobcats with packs of dogs. Assemblymember Mike Gatto, D-43, who represents the Burbank and Glendale areas, is in a position to make a real difference for the welfare of dogs and of wildlife. “Hounding” is a practice where dogs outfitted with high-tech telemetry collars are released into the woods to run down bears and bobcats so that trophy hunters can easily shoot the exhausted, terrified animals off of tree limbs.

Throughout 2011, the Glendale News-Press was riddled with articles regarding the Rose Parade float selected for the city of Glendale. It was difficult for the funding to be pulled together, and there was strong opposition against the theme. At the time, it seemed to me a lot of people were upset about what was selected. However, no one stepped up to be a part of the selection committee to begin with. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals even stepped in to claim that the float represented animal cruelty.

Since it looks like we are lumbering down the path toward building our New Year's tribute to - whatever - I have but two more observations on the matter. After this, I vow to put this topic aside for the remainder of 2011, barring any unforeseen dramatic or comedic turns of event. First, how exactly does an elephant and a cart titled “Stepping out in style” have anything to do with the parade theme “Just Imagine”? I've been in the creative world my entire adult life and for the life of me I can't link the two. Can whoever approved this design step up to the microphone and clear it up for me?

The ongoing drama over Glendale's elephant-themed float for the Tournament of Roses Parade continued on Tuesday, with the builder of the design calling criticism from animal rights activists unfair. Last week, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals organized a handful of protesters who waved signs in front of City Hall that said “Sink the Circus Float.” The protest came a few weeks after a resident likened the float to a symbol of animal cruelty. But on Tuesday, Chris Lofthouse - president of Phoenix Decorating Company, the Pasadena firm that has built Glendale's Tournament of Roses float for nearly two decades - said the critiques were based on an unfair interpretation of the design.

A 46-year-old Glendale man was sentenced today to 16 years to life in prison for killing his wife and microwaving his Pomeranian to death. John Levin was found guilty of second-degree murder last month after he pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty for microwaving his dog. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge today also sentenced Levin to 8 months in prison for the animal cruelty charge. Levin was arrested attempting to cross the Canadian border days after the body of his 35-year-old wife, Michelle Levin, and the dog were discovered Sept.

PASADENA - A 47-year-old Glendale man was sentenced Tuesday to serve 16 years to life in prison for killing his wife and microwaving his Pomeranian to death. Jurors found John Levin guilty of second-degree murder in June for killing his 35-year-old wife, Michelle Levin, after he pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty for microwaving his dog. “I am told that it is a sin to not forgive and to harbor vengeance in your heart,” Michelle Levin's father, Frank Raymie, told Levin in a Pasadena courtroom.

At first glance, the proposed animal cruelty database seems like a case of governmental overreach. The idea of putting people convicted of abusing Fluffy or Mittens on a publicly accessible website looks a lot like a modern version of the pillory — and in a way, that seems to be part of the point. But at the same time, there is no denying that people are among us who will actively abuse, or passively neglect, animals. There is also no denying that such people should be kept away from owning and caring for pets.

GLENDALE — Local animal shelter officials said they support a potential state law that would create an online registry of animal abusers. While local cases of extreme animal cruelty are rare, they are not unheard of. A former employee of the Glendale Humane Society in 2002 was ordered to serve three years’ probation after pleading no contest to felony animal cruelty charges. Police said they discovered about 200 animals at his home, several of them dead. In 2004, a Burbank woman was ordered to serve probation after a court found her guilty of animal cruelty for keeping 230 Chihuahuas and 60 birds in her home.