Massachusetts Archives - i Still Love Dogs

Monster Who Tortured Puppy Doe Sentenced to Up to 10 Years in Prison

One of the most disturbing cases of animal abuse that I’m aware of was that of Puppy Doe, a young Pit Bull who was given away by her original owners when their landlord decided to ban the breed due to high insurance rates.

Puppy Doe, also known as Kiya, eventually ended up with Radoslaw Czerkawski, a Polish national living illegally in the U.S. on an expired work visa. Czerkawski starved the puppy and inflicted upon her what a veterinarian described as medieval-style torture. This monster systematically pulled her joints apart one by one, split her tongue in half, stabbed her in the eye and burned her. When the 95-year-old woman he was living with and a caregiver for died in August 2013, Czerkawski dumped the puppy in a wooded area.

When a good Samaritan found Puppy Doe, she thought the dog had been hit by a car due to the severity of her injuries. Tragically, Puppy Doe had to be euthanized, but during her final hours she was shown what it’s like to be loved by the caring staff of the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

Czerkawski was arrested after Puppy Doe’s blood splatter was found in the elderly woman’s home. His cell phone records indicated he had bought the dog from her second owner via a Craigslist ad. He was charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty, and he was later convicted of a larceny charge for stealing more than $130,000 from the elderly woman.

The animal cruelty trial was originally set for early 2015, but it was repeatedly postponed.

Finally, nearly five years after Puppy Doe’s horrific ordeal, Czerkawski’s trial began earlier this month in Dedham, Mass. And, finally, there is some justice for Puppy Doe: This week the jury found Czerkawski guilty of all 12 counts of animal cruelty.

Although the judge could have sentenced Czerkawski to 55 years in prison, he was sentenced to only eight to 10 years, followed by two years of probation. Also, Czerkawski cannot ever own, care for, or come in contact with any animal, or volunteer where animals are present.

Czerkawski is already serving time for the larceny charge, so he could be out of prison in just a few years. Still, the Animal Rescue League of Boston called the sentencing “a historic day for animal welfare in Massachusetts.”

“With the conviction and sentencing of Radoslaw Czerkawski, it has been demonstrated that people who commit animal cruelty, and in this case extreme cruelty, will be held accountable,” it stated on its Facebook page. “Ironically Puppy Doe’s short and tragic life was the impetus for stronger laws protecting all animals in the Commonwealth–and there’s still more work to do.”

Thanks to poor Puppy Doe, animal cruelty laws have been strengthened in Massachusetts since Czerkawski was arrested back in 2013. The maximum sentence for a first offense, which used to be five years, increased to seven years. Subsequent offenses have a maximum sentence of 10 years. The fines were raised from $2,500 for a first offense to $5,000, and up to $10,000 for subsequent offenses.

While eight to 10 years doesn’t seem like nearly long enough for what that despicable monster did to Puppy Doe, at least her case will hopefully prevent other animals from suffering so much cruelty.

Rest in peace, Kiya.

Photo: Animal Rescue League of Boston

Dog Helps Save Life of Stranded Sea Turtle

A 2-year-old Newfoundland named Veda happened to be in the right place at the right time Monday morning.

Veda was walking ahead of her pet parents along the beach in Plymouth, Mass., when she spotted a stranded loggerhead sea turtle that was almost hidden in the same-colored sand, seaweed and debris that had washed ashore during an storm the day before.

Leah and Brad Bares wondered why their dog suddenly stopped and lay down in the sand.

“It was something she had never seen,” Leah told the Boston Globe. “That’s just the nature of a Newfoundland … instincts that it needed to be saved or helped.”

If Veda hadn’t found the sea turtle, it would have died within a few hours. The temperature was in the 20s, much too cold for a loggerhead to survive.

The Bares told the Boston Globe they “freaked out” at first when they saw the turtle. They covered it with seaweed to help keep it warm and made some cell-phone calls.

Soon William Gray, a volunteer with the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, arrived and helped the couple carry the 40-pound sea turtle off the beach. He brought it to the New England Aquarium’s off-site Animal Care Center in Quincy, Mass.

“This sea turtle coming ashore on January 11 is the latest to ever strand alive so late in the winter in the aquarium’s 25-year effort to rehabilitate cold-stunned sea turtles off the Massachusetts coast,” the aquarium said in a press release today. “Besides the late date, this turtle was unusual as it was found on the South Shore versus Cape Cod, where 99 percent of the strandings occur.”

After four days of slowly being re-warmed, the sea turtle’s body temperature has been raised from 30 degrees to a closer-to-normal 70 degrees.

“The animal is bright and alert with a guarded but promising prognosis,” the aquarium said.

Aquarium spokesman Tony LeCasse told the Boston Globe, “We were very lucky. If that dog hadn’t seen that sea turtle … they probably would have never noticed.”

The lucky loggerhead has been named Newfie in honor of its rescuer.

“Each year aquarium rescue staff name many of the sea turtles after a particular theme, such as cartoon characters or constellations,” the aquarium noted. “Strangely enough, this year’s naming theme is dog breeds.”

Another strange — and very cool — coincidence: Veda’s dog mom is an artist, and one of her most popular works is a watercolor painting of a loggerhead turtle. Leah donates 20 percent of the proceeds from each sale to the non-profit National Marine Life Center in Bourne, Mass.

“There’s some people in the neighborhood who are against dogs on the beach,” Leah told the Boston Globe, “but this is all the more reason to keep bringing her on walks.”

Photos: New England Aquarium

Dog Leads Police Officer to Trapped Buddy

The dog mom of a little terrier named Jacques might want to think about changing his name to Lassie.

When the elderly woman had to be rushed from her Orange, Mass., home to a hospital by ambulance Tuesday, she was concerned that Jacques and his BFF, another terrier named Annabelle, escaped from the yard.

She had nothing to worry about, thanks to Orange Police Officer Chris Biceglia. “I’m committed. I’m staying here,” he said via radio communication, Fire Chief Craig Lundgren told WHDH.

As temperatures dropped below freezing, Biceglia kept his word, waiting in the woods for Jacques and Annabelle.

Hours passed. Finally Biceglia saw something — but it was only Jacques.

“He’d bark. He’d come toward me and then he’d run away,” Bisceglia told CBS Boston. “And he continued to do this.”

Jacques led Bisceglia to an embankment.

“The female terrier was down the embankment, stuck on a downed tree and trapped, surrounded by water,” Bisceglia told CBS Boston. “And it was all ice, a steep embankment, so she couldn’t get back up.”

Biceglia contacted the fire department, and responders pulled Annabelle to safety. She was checked out by a vet and is okay.

Animal Control Officer Jennifer Arsenault told CBS Boston she wasn’t suprised by Jacques’ Lassie-like action to help rescue his buddy.

“Especially dogs that have been together for a long time, they become very bonded with each other and they’re very intelligent,” she said. “People don’t give dogs half the credit they deserve.”

According to WHDH, Jacques and Annabelle’s dog mom has been released from the hospital.

“I mean you hear of things like this, with, of course, Lassie,” her son, Gene Fraser, told WHDH.

Along with Jacques, he gave Biceglia credit for helping to save Annabelle’s life.

“For an officer to come back an hour later, and not giving up, and turning around and coming back again, he’s the key really to having this all come into play,” Fraser said.

Photos via Twitter; Twitter

Puppy Doe’s Legacy: Tougher Animal Cruelty Laws in Massachusetts

UPDATE: In March 2018, Radoslaw Czerkawski was found guilty of all 12 charges of animal cruelty and sentenced to eight to 10 years in prison.

One of the most horrific and disturbing animal abuse cases I’ve ever written about was that of Kiya, a young Pit Bull better known as Puppy Doe.

Kiya’s original owners had given her away via a Craigslist ad when their landlord decided to ban Pit Bulls due to high insurance rates. She eventually ended up with Radoslaw Czerkawski, who starved her and inflicted what the Boston Herald called “medieval-style torture” on the helpless dog — he systematically pulled her limbs apart, split her tongue in half, stabbed her in the eye and burned her.

Czerkawski, a Polish national living in the U.S. on an expired work visa, was the live-in caretaker for an elderly woman with dementia in Quincy, Mass. When the woman died in late August 2013, Czerkawski dumped Kiya in a nearby wooded area. She was discovered there by someone who thought she’d been hit by a car — her injuries were that severe.

This was “unquestionably … hands down” the worst case of animal cruelty she’d ever witnessed, Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, vice president of animal welfare at the Animal Rescue League of Boston, told the Boston Herald.

“When I saw how vulnerable she was and I understood immediately the duration of her suffering, my heart collapsed,” she said.

Kiya’s injuries were so extreme that she had to be euthanized. But first she was treated to a feast and lots of loving attention from Smith-Blackmore and her staff.

“Within hours of being found she had pain medication, food and love,” Smith-Blackmore told the Herald. “She experienced some tenderness and some care at the end of her life.”

Two months later, Czerkawski was arrested after Kiya’s blood splatter was found in the elderly woman’s home. His cell phone records indicated he had bought Kiya from her second owner via a Craigslist ad.

Czerkawski was charged with 12 counts of animal cruelty. He was also slapped with a larceny charge for stealing more than $100,000 from the elderly woman.

A trial date for the animal cruelty charges will be set Nov. 7, the Boston Herald reported today.

In the meantime, “Puppy Doe’s” tragic ordeal has led to legislation for tougher animal cruelty laws in Massachusetts.

Governor Deval Patrick is expected to sign a bill that will increase prison sentences and fines for animal abusers; require veterinarians to report suspected animal abuse to authorities; and create a task force that will review how the state handles animal abuse cases.

The maximum sentence for a first offense, which is currently five years, will increase to seven years. Subsequent offenses would have a maximum sentence of 10 years. The fines will be raised from $2,500 for a first offense to $5,000, and up to $10,000 for subsequent offenses.

“These are felonies, these are very serious crimes, and I think the penalties should reflect that,” Mary Nee, president of the Animal Rescue League of Boston, told the Boston Globe.

Until the bill was created, “animal rescue and welfare organizations were steadily working to chip away at animal cruelty in the state, largely unnoticed,” Rob Halpin, spokesman for MSPCA-Angell, told the Globe.

“It’s almost like we’re in this period in animal cruelty that’s ‘before Puppy Doe’ and ‘after Puppy Doe,’” he said. “Puppy Doe made a large and permanent crack in the status quo.”

Photo via Facebook