Man gets jail term for torturing puppy in front of 4-year-old daughter

CALIFORNIA -- A Redwood City man was sentenced to two years in jail for torturing and suffocating his family's puppy in front of his 4-year-old daughter, officials said Monday.

Alan Benjamin Velete, 32, was also ordered Friday to serve a third year in a residential rehabilitation treatment center, according to the San Mateo County district attorney's office.

Velete was placed on four years' probation and ordered to stay away from his daughter and ex-girlfriend. He was forbidden from owning or caring for any animals.

His sentence comes nearly two months after he pleaded no contest in July to one count of felony animal cruelty and a misdemeanor count of child endangerment.

Prosecutors said Velete punched and kicked the 4-month-old puppy named "Lucky" in December after it defecated on the apartment floor.

The abuse went on for a month -- all in front of his daughter, prosecutors said.

Velete allegedly kept the puppy in a crate in the bathroom and sprayed its eyes with household cleaner.

At one point, he placed the puppy in a duffel bag and hung it in the shower, leaving the trapped puppy to whimper for hours, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Velete also taped the puppy's mouth shut and fed the dog his psychiatric drugs.

(LA Times - Sept 29, 2014)

Earlier:

• Redwood City man pleads not guilty to torturing, killing dog in front of daughter