The court has suspended the punishment of the animal tormentor!

The court has suspended the punishment of the animal tormentor!
2010.02.08.

The Court of Appeal has suspended the punishment of the 16-year-old Irish Setter’s tormentor for two years!

On Christmas night 2008 in Budapest a man threw his 15-year-old Irish Setter, called Maya, down from the 1st floor hanging corridor before the very eyes of several witnesses. After he made sure that the dog was severely injured but not dead, he dragged the old animal, who was in a state of shock, to a nearby park to die there in the cold, lonely and slowly.

For Maya’s luck, people walking their dogs and neighbors went to help and took her to the vet. The medical examination not only revealed the bleeding wound, injured ligaments and a leg injury needing immediate surgery, but also the marks of several serious former injuries which the neglected, old animal bore, presumably as a result of his owner's violence.

After this, Maya was taken back to her owners, who refused her further treatment. Friends of animals then turned to the Noah's Ark Animal Shelter Foundation. The Foundation’s volunteers immediately rushed to Maya’s help, organized the life-saving surgeries, and the Foundation reported the perpetrator to the police due to cruelty to animals.

The trial court pronounced its sentence on 28th April 2009, in which the perpetrator was found guilty, and for the first time in Hungary the criminal was sentenced to an imprisonment of 5 months. Furthermore, Maya, who had been seized, was confiscated and awarded to the Noah's Ark Animal Shelter Foundation. Maya’s condition improved day by day under the care of the animal home, and after the pronunciation of the sentence, she was adopted by her new family.

The so far unprecedented sentence, as well as the miraculous recovery of the old setter lady, Maya, caused quite a great stir in the media. Newspaper articles and TV reports appeared one after the other. A large number of inquirers and supporters contacted the animal shelter and expressed their unanimous agreement with the milestone sentence.

Unfortunately life proved this to be a nine days' wonder. A few months ago Maya became lame overnight, she couldn’t get on her feet and lost coordination. Once again, often painful medical examinations and dreadful days followed in an animal hospital. Finally, the diagnosis was made: serious vertebra slippage, evidently an after effect of the previous trauma. The veteran dog will be subjected again to a complicated, long surgery and an even longer period of recovery, with an uncertain outcome.

The defendant appealed against the decision of the court and requested sentence reduction. The Noah's Ark Animal Shelter Foundation did not receive any information about the Court of Appeal trial, and the Court informed the Foundation about the decision it made only in writing after that it had been passed on the public sitting on 12th January 2010.

The Court of Appeal decision has been that the enforcement of the previously imposed executable imprisonment is to be suspended for two years of probation. According to the justification for the reduction, the Court has considered circumstances that have occurred in the meantime, i.e. the defendant has been under medical treatment (detoxication cure). Furthermore, it referred to the general punishment execution practice that it is not a habit to impose a real executable punishment for abusing animals.

Unfortunately, the Court of Appeal failed to provide an opportunity for the offended party to present the medical certificate showing the circumstances that have changed in the meantime – to prove how the 16-year-old Maya is fighting against lameness and is struggling for each step, unlike dogs at her age.

Maya does not give up, neither does the Foundation. We are going to keep on standing by, protecting and fighting for every abused animal. The Foundation’s volunteers and its more than 650 animal residents hope that the time will come, when the Animal Welfare Act will be more than just a bunch of written letters: a real support for beings with whom we live together, and who many times live just for us, humans until their last breath!