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Monster Who Tortured and Killed Dogs Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison

Jason Brown of Reno never had a problem finding victims for what he referred to as his “house of pain.” The clean-cut, 25-year-old former presidential scholar would simply answer ads for free dogs on Craigslist.

And then he would torture and kill them in a Super 8 motel room, while capturing the horrific acts on cell phone videos.

“Pugs, instead of barking, Pugs sound like humans, like little kids,” he tells a friend in one of the videos, ABC News reports. “They yell. Let me show you. You want me to get one tonight?”

At today’s sentencing hearing, only Washoe District Judge Elliott Sattler, lawyers and a detective could view the videos. But others in the courtroom, including the weeping former pet parents who’d given their dogs to Brown, could hear the clinking sounds of knives and the terrified squealing of the dogs.

“Those images I watched, I will never forget,” Sattler said. “The cruelty, the sadism you exhibited is simply shocking.”

He sentenced Brown to up to 28 years in Nevada state prison — a longer sentence than Brown would have gotten had he killed a human being and been charged with manslaughter.

“The part that frightened me most about the videos is that you produced them in the first place,” Sattler said. “That tells me you wanted to go back and watch them again — a trophy, if you will, of your behavior. You watched with friends and laughed.”

Brown was arrested in July 2014 after a maid found four dog heads in a mini-fridge, as well as dog limbs, two bloody kitchen knives and bloodstains in the motel room Brown had been renting.

Prosecutors said Brown tortured and killed five dogs in the motel room and a sixth at another location.

Even Brown’s own lawyer, John Oakes, said the videos and pictures in this case “take your breath away. Over 40 years, I’ve seen people killed in every way, shape or form. But this case is a first for me in a lot of ways.”

Brown claims he respects animals and doesn’t remember doing any of those horrible acts because he was high on heroin, meth and cocaine. He pleaded no contest to seven counts of willfully torturing and killing animals.

“I cannot explain the grief I felt for this horrible situation,” Brown said at the hearing.

He’ll have the next 28 years to figure it out — although he’ll be eligible for parole in 11 years.

Photo via Twitter

Good (for) Karma! Judge Spares ‘Wolf-Dog’ from Euthanization

Karma, a 4-year-old Siberian Husky who Orange County Animal Care Director Jennifer Hawkins insists is a wolf-dog hybrid, was given a reprieve today from his death sentence.

Hawkins wanted Karma to be euthanized because the dog killed a cat in 2012 and was therefore “vicious.” When a DNA test showed he was part wolf (as are all Siberian Huskies…and all dogs), Hawkins said the “wolf-dog” could not be vaccinated against rabies.

“Ultimately, it was determined that euthanasia is necessary to ensure public safety,” Hawkins said in a statement, according to ABC7.

Karma had been impounded by Orange County Animal Care in Orange, Calif., after his owners, Joshua and Tiffany Ogle, were arrested for domestic violence May 24. The Ogles appealed Hawkins’ decision, but Orange County Superior Court Judge Corey Cramin initially upheld it.

As Karma’s plight became known on social media, more than 350,000 outraged animal lovers signed an online petition urging his life to be spared.

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer was also opposed to Karma’s death sentence. Yesterday he successfully convinced the Orange County Board of Supervisors to vote 3-2 in favor of asking Cramin to reconsider his ruling.

“You have to convince me personally that there is more aggressive behavior before I’m going to end the life of a beautiful dog,” Spitzer told ABC7.

This morning, Cramin overturned his original ruling. Karma will spend the rest of his life at the Full Moon Farm wolf-dog sanctuary in Black Mountain, N.C.

When Nancy Brown, who owns the sanctuary, found out yesterday that Karma’s life could be spared, she told the OC Register she was “so joyful.”

“I agreed to the terms, as absurd as they are,” Brown said.

Christina Garcia, the Ogles’ attorney, said she had papers proving Karma is a purebred Siberian Husky.

“We would hope in a best-case scenario Karma returns home to his guardians, but if that’s not possible we would like the dog to live out the rest of his life happy in a sanctuary,” she told CBS Los Angeles.

Photo via Twitter

Dog Dad Crashes Car When Bullmastiff Jumps into Front Seat

A man driving in Santa Ana, Calif., last night lost control of his car when his 100-pound Bullmastiff puppy jumped onto the front seat.

The car overturned and caught fire. Good Samaritans helped pull the unidentified man and Mastis, the 8-month-old dog, out of the car, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Mastis, who at first was reluctant to get out of the car, was uninjured. His dog dad suffered minor head injuries and was taken to a hospital, according to KTLA. A family member took Mastis home.

The man may be cited for having an unrestrained animal in his car. This should serve as a scary reminder to keep your dog restrained when you’re on the road together — and not necessarily with a harness.

“The safest way for your dog to travel in the car is in a crate that has been anchored to the vehicle using a seatbelt or other secure means,” says the Humane Society of the United States.

“Dog restraints or seat belts are useful for preventing your dog from roaming around the car and being a distraction to the driver, but they haven’t been reliably shown to protect dogs during a crash.”

This is shocking but true: With the exception of one product — Sleepypod Clickit Utility — all dog harnesses that were tested by the Center for Pet Safety (CPS) in 2013 were found to be “insufficient in design, materials and overall performance,” according to CPS. “We do not agree with claims of crash protection made by these manufacturers.”

Photo via Twitter

Life of ‘Wolf-Dog Hybrid’ May Be Spared

SEPT. 30, 2015 UPDATE: This morning, Orange County Superior Court Judge Corey Cramin overturned his original ruling to have Karma euthanized.

A dog named Karma is on death row. Why? Because he killed a cat.

Yes, it’s terrible that the cat died, but most other dogs who have done the same thing have not been ordered to be euthanized.

Why Karma? Because the Husky mix is allegedly a wolf-dog hybrid.

Karma was taken in by Orange County Animal Care in Orange, Calif., after his owners, Joshua and Tiffany Ogle, were arrested for domestic violence May 24.

Jennifer Hawkins, director of OC Animal Care and its chief veterinarian, decided Karma should be euthanized. After all, Karma had killed that cat in 2012 and was therefore “vicious.” Also, a DNA test showed he was part wolf, and it’s not known whether rabies vaccines are effective on wolf-dog hybrids.

“OC Animal Care staff took great care to weigh all the facts of the case and does not take lightly the euthanasia of any animal, wolf-hybrid or domestic,” Hawkins said in a statement, according to ABC7. “Ultimately, it was determined that euthanasia is necessary to ensure public safety.”

The Ogles appealed, but Orange County Superior Court Judge Corey Cramin upheld Hawkins’ decision.

Animal experts argued that any dog could test positive for having wolf DNA. And as for Karma being a danger to public safety, a hearing officer determined in June that he was not vicious — but that decision was reversed by Hawkins.

As news of Karma’s impending death spread on social media, more than 350,000 outraged animal lovers signed an online petition urging his life to be spared.

The effort apparently worked. The Orange County Register reports that Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who opposes Karma’s death sentence, successfully convinced the Orange County Board of Supervisors yesterday to vote 3-2 in favor of asking Cramin to reconsider his ruling.

“You have to convince me personally that there is more aggressive behavior before I’m going to end the life of a beautiful dog,” Spitzer told ABC7. (That’s him visiting Karma in the photo below.)

Joshua Ogle’s sister, Ruby Sanford, told the OC Register she was relieved by the board’s vote. Her three children grew up with Karma. “I’m overwhelmed and nervous,” she said. “I want her to live so badly.”

Sanford’s 8-year-old son, Vincent, thanked Spitzer. “Karma never did anything wrong,” he told him.

Cramin will hear the case tomorrow. If he decides to spare Karma’s life, the dog will be taken in by the Full Moon Farm wolf-dog sanctuary in Black Mountain, N.C.

Nancy Brown, who owns the sanctuary, told the OC Register she was “so joyful” when she heard the news. “I agreed to the terms, as absurd as they are,” she said.

Spitzer told the OC Register that while he respected Hawkins’ decision to have Karma euthanized, the board of supervisors “are the ultimate decision makers when it comes to the county.”

Brown said wolf-dog hybrids are “the bastards of the canine world.”

“Wolf people don’t want them because they think they’re dogs, and dog people don’t want them because they think they’re wolves,” she told the OC Register.

Photos via Facebook; Facebook

Pope Francis Meets Bo and Sunny Obama

No historical trip by a pope to the United States would be complete without meeting the first family — including “first dogs” Bo and Sunny, the Obamas’ Portuguese Water Dogs.

Pope Francis did just that today. A photo by official White House photographer Pete Souza captured the pontiff patting Bo. Or maybe it was Sunny.

The pope’s petting of the first dogs may very well be a historical first. Also a historical first? Pope Francis was the first pope to ever bless a dog.

Shortly after Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis in March 2013, Alessandro Forlani, who is blind and works for Italy’s RAI Radio, went to the Vatican with Asià, his Labrador Retriever seeing-eye dog. The two attended the pope’s meeting with reporters from around the world who’d spent the previous week reporting on the conclave.

Pope Francis greeted him warmly, Forlani wrote on his Facebook page. Forlani asked the pope for a special blessing for his wife and daughter, who had recently been baptized.

“And a special blessing for your dog,” Pope Francis added. He then “bent down and stroked Asià,” according to Forlani.

According to Discovery News, Asià sniffed the pope’s dress and shoes as the two of them were making history.

Photo via Twitter