VILE MONSTER
Dog owner, 20, killed his pet by chaining it to a fence and setting it on fire because it bit his toddler daughter
A SADISTIC dog owner who killed his pet by chaining it to a fence and setting it on fire because it bit his toddler daughter, has been jailed for five years.
Jyahshua Hill, 20, tied his pit pull named Tommie to a fence and doused the dog with a flammable liquid in February last year.
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Tommie was rescued from Abner Clay Park in Virginia and treated for severe burns to 40 per cent of his body but died five days later.
The 20-year-old said he lit the dog on fire to protect his family after it bit his toddler daughter, reported.
Hill said: "The dog attacked my daughter and I snapped and I did what I had to do to protect my kids from the dog.
"I grabbed the dog, put a leash on it, seen the lighter fluid, grabbed it - and me and the dog took off to Clay park.
"I blacked out and that's when everything had happened."
I grabbed the dog, put a leash on it, seen the lighter fluid [and] grabbed it.
Jyahshua Hill
He added: "I'm sorry I took it that far with the dog."
Firefighters nearby to the park rushed to the scene after seeing the dog on fire.
Richmond Animal Care and Control rescued Tommie, who suffered burns to more than 40 per cent of its body.
But five days later, the shelter announced: "He had just finished having his bandages changed and stopped breathing; his body simply gave out."
Thousands of dollars was offered to track down the person responsible - increasing to a staggering $25,000 with donations from the public.
Hill was arrested in May and pleaded guilty in Richmond Circuit Court to one count of Felony Animal Cruelty.
Prosecutor Denise Anderson said Hill was caught on CCTV dragging and jerking the dog by its leash.
She said: "He was yelling things like, 'You'll get yours.'
"While the defendant fled on foot, the dog ran in circles trying to escape its agony."
As part of a plea agreement, Hill will serve five years in prison - the maximum sentence allowable by law, without the possibility of parole.
In addition, he will have three years of post-release supervision by the court and will be barred from owning or possessing animals for life.
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TOUGH NEW LAWS
The incident sparked widespread public outrage and led to harsher penalties in the state for animal abuse.
Virginia passed a law known colloquially as “Tommie’s Law” which makes animal cruelty a felony in Virginia and came into effect on July 1.
Similarly, in the UK, cruel owners who torture their pets will be locked up for up to five years under a tough new laws announced in July.
The new punishment for animal cruelty is a huge increase on the current maximum term of six months.
It also comes after puppy farms were outlawed, and a ban on wild animals in travelling circuses.
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