Tag: Sam

WTH: Loser Caught on Video Beating German Shepherd Gets Probation

Last January, Victor Almendariz of Huntington Park, Calif., crouched over his 2-year-old German Shepherd, Sam, and repeatedly punched him in the head. Hard.

The beating was captured on video by a witness, who notified the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA).

But today Almendariz didn’t get so much as a slap on the wrist for pummeling his poor dog.

After the loser pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor (nope, not a felony) count of animal cruelty, Judge Gustavo Sztraicher sentenced him to five years of probation that includes 500 hours of community labor and 48 weeks of animal abuse counseling, spcaLA reports.

Almendariz can’t own animals for five years, but after that, best of luck to his new punching bags — er, pets.

The case was investigated by spcaLA, which took in and provided medical treatment for Sam and two other German Shepherds belonging to Almedariz.

Thank goodness the witness took a video of Sam’s beating and notified spcaLA. Take a look at it, if you can stomach it. Do you think Almendariz’s sentencing was fair?

Photo via YouTube

13-Year-Old Boston Terrier Survives 15-Story Fall into Hot Tub

If dogs could talk, a 13-year-old, partially blind Boston Terrier named Sam would have quite a Christmas miracle tale to tell.

As the senior pooch has enjoyed doing for the past three years, Sam was basking in the sun Monday morning on the 15th-floor balcony of the Sacramento, Calif., apartment he shares with his dog dad, Bill McCourt.

While McCourt is at work during the day, his mom, Bette Plumb, dog sits. She was rather surprised to get a phone call Monday from building workers, who told her they found Sam dog-paddling in the outdoor hot tub. They’d heard a loud splash and had gone out to see what caused it.

“My first thought was he must have got out and taken the stairs or the elevator or something,” Plumb told the Sacramento Bee. “But there’s no way he could have gotten out of the condo. All of a sudden, I knew. It hit me immediately: He fell.”

Expecting the worst, Plumb took the elevator 15 stories down to the ground level. There she found Sam on his feet, walking around with just a slight limp.

“It’s absolutely a miracle,” she told the Bee. “There’s no way that dog should be alive.”

Sam didn’t escape completely unscathed. He had a fractured pelvis and ribs, and a cut on his bottom that required stitches. He was expected to be home for Christmas after spending a few days at VCA Bradshaw Animal Hospital, but a full recovery may take weeks.

And from now on, the balcony will be off limits to the very fortunate dog.

“Whenever I tell someone what happened, they keep saying, ‘The 15th floor? Are you sure it was the 15th floor?’ because no one can believe it,” McCourt, who’s had Sam ever since he was a puppy, told the Bee.

“I just want to get him home. He’s a huge part of my family.”

Photo via Facebook

Exit mobile version