Jail time revoked for man who cut off dog’s paw with scissors
COURTESY HAWAIIAN HUMANE SOCIETY
Pomeranian-chihuahua mix originally named “Volcano Dog.” His front leg was snipped off after it was broken. This is Volcano Dog after surgery and healing. John Christopher Jenkins was sentenced for animal cruelty.
A state appeals court has upheld the animal cruelty conviction of a man who said he used scissors to cut the paw off his dog’s broken leg, but the court overturned the man’s 60-day jail sentence.
John Christopher Jenkins told a state jury that he applied a splint, made from two Popsicle sticks and gauze, on one of the dog’s front legs in April 2012 after a friend stepped on the Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix named Volcano Dog and snapped the leg in half. He said he also gave the dog Aleve (an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drug) for pain relief and two days later re-wrapped the leg.
Jenkins, 57, said after a few more days the dog was whimpering in pain and just “flopping around” so he cut off the lower portion of its leg, soaked the wound in Hawaiian salt, applied antiseptic and re-wrapped the wound with new gauze. He said he called several veterinarians, got some quotes, including one for $1,200 because the paw was already off, but did not get professional care for the dog.
One of Jenkins’ tenants testified that Jenkins agreed to let her take the dog to a veterinarian after she saw the dog in the yard without any bandages on the wound. Another tenant said the bone was showing.
Two veterinarians performed emergency surgery and because of infection, amputated the rest of the leg 10 days after Jenkins said the leg was broken.
The prosecutor argued that Jenkins committed cruelty by depriving his pet of veterinary care needed to prevent suffering.
The jury found Jenkins guilty in August 2013 of the misdemeanor charge and a state judge sentenced him to one year of probation, including 60 days in jail. The judge also ordered Jenkins to perform 200 hours of community service, to divest himself of any pets, and prohibited him from owning and getting any new pets during his term of probation.
The judge suspended the sentence pending Jenkins’ appeal.
The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals on Friday upheld the conviction but overturned the sentence because of the reason the judge gave for imposing it. The judge said he found Jenkins’ testimony that he was able to cut off the lower portion of the dog’s paw with a scissors not credible, suggesting that it takes more than a pair of paper scissors to cut through bone.
The appeals court remanded the case for re-sentencing because it said there was no evidence that Jenkins needed to cut through bone to amputate the dog’s leg.
The judge who sentenced Jenkins in 2013 no longer sits on the bench so Jenkins will face a new judge and again face a maximum one-year jail term.
Volcano Dog was adopted during Jenkins’ trial and now has a new name and a new family in Kapolei.
13 responses to “Jail time revoked for man who cut off dog’s paw with scissors”
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I hope that the new re-sentencing judge will give this dude the full one-year jail sentence.
Would be nice but no hold your breath.
Thank goodness this poor innocent now has a loving caring family and is no longer in pain.
People like him should not have a pet, any pet.
POS should meet my Louisville Slugger and be banned from ever owning pets.
ANYONE who can’t afford to care for pets shouldn’t have pets.
I cannot begin to even think of such a situation happening. Okay, the Supreme Court has remanded this matter back to the District Court for sentencing. They are sending a message. They want jail time. I and don’t blame them.
I don’t even know where to begin. This guy better not try to live in my neighborhood. (Do you think a jury would convict me?)
You’d get long jail time from the judge and a thousand thank yous from the rest of us!
Thank goodness for the tenant who cared enough to take the dog to the vet. Poor little doggie might have died.
Yep, sounded like this guy had money issues more than anything else. I had a sick cat before and the vet charged close to 5 grand for a week of care, and the cat died anyway.
Perhaps removal of one of his appendages would be better than jail time.
I find it interesting how, without any promise of compensation, 2 vets performed “emergency surgery” on the poor mutt. Where the heck were these two when Mr. Jenkins shopped around for a reasonable fee? This may come as a surprise to all here who have judged him harshly, but some of us do not have a spare $1200 just laying around. The proper course of action on Mr.Jenkins’ part, finding himself unable to pay the vet fee, would have been to have the poor thing euthanized humanely by the Humane Society. Hopefully, that would have been a more thrifty, humane, and law-abiding option for Mr. Jenkins. His so-called “friend” who got this whole thing going in the first place should have been held partially responsible also.
What a waste of taxpayer money, this guy is well deserving of 60 days if not more no matter what reasoning the judge used to sentence him.