Sacramento man, Ignatius Llewellyn "Ignacio" Chavarria, charged with torture in dog's fatal scalding

CALIFORNIA -- A man who investigators say forced a small dog to stand under a scalding shower because it pooped in its crate was charged Tuesday with felony animal torture and malicious maiming.

Ignatius Llewellyn "Ignacio" Chavarria, 31, was arrested Tuesday morning by Sacramento police at the midtown fourplex where the crime allegedly occurred Nov. 7.

RIP Tucker

According to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office, Chavarria admitted being upset because Tucker, a 4-year-old Yorkie-Maltese mix that belonged to his girlfriend, made a mess in the crate after the girlfriend failed to come home from work on her lunch break to take the dog outside.

Chavarria told investigators he intended to give Tucker a bath and placed him in the shower, turning the water "all the way hot" before backing off the temperature and testing it with his hand.

Chavarria said he then placed the detachable shower head on the floor of the shower and left the bathroom to take a phone call on the front porch while Tucker was confined in the shower by the sliding doors.

 

  

  

He said he left the dog alone for 10 minutes and returned when he heard Tucker howling.

 

Chavarria reportedly later told his girlfriend that Tucker's missing hair and extremely red skin were the likely reaction of the shampoo he had used to bathe the dog.

The girlfriend, on the advice of a poison control operator, gave Tucker a second bath before Chavarria admitted he had left the dog unattended in a hot shower, according to the investigative report.

At 8 p.m., Tucker was taken to an animal hospital where two veterinarians noted dead tissue across the shoulder region and third degree burns on 80 percent of the dog's body. Tucker was also suffering kidney failure, they said, and they euthanized him the following day.

Sacramento's Front Street Animal Shelter director Gina Knepp said the criminal investigation began after they were notified of Tucker's death by the girlfriend's mother.

 

 

"I can't imagine the pain and suffering, the noise this animal must have been making during this event," Knepp said. "The whimpering, the crying, the howling. How anybody could stand by and listen to that or do that to begin with -- I can't comprehend that."

During a search of the home in December, investigators noted the water temperature at the shower head was 143 degrees after running for two minutes, which they said could produce a scalding burn on a human in five seconds.

Tucker's owner responded to a text message seeking comment on Chavarria's arrest. "I do not feel comfortable talking with anyone at this time," she wrote.

Chavarria's mother, who was at the fourplex during the arrest and had occasionally taken care of Tucker, defended her son.

"He said the dog passed away. They gave the dog a bath but I don't know the whole story behind it," Sandra Evans said. "I don't think it was intentional. My son loved that dog."

Chavarria was being held in the Sacramento County Jail in lieu of $35,000 bail.

Knepp, the shelter director, said her staff received more than 300 complaints of felony or misdemeanor animal cruelty last year, but without a dedicated investigator only about a dozen cases made it to the district attorney for prosecution.

(News10 - February 11, 2015)