Are animal cruelty laws stiff enough?
By By PAT BAILEY (WKTV) – In the span of three days, two men will have been sentenced in animal cruelty cases – both cases ranging in the severity of harm to the animals and how the laws break down to enforce it. On Tuesday, June 9, 2010, a Little Falls man received probation, and on Friday, June 11, 2010, a Utica man will be sentenced to prison. Edward Ruggerio, 21, of Little Falls, plead guilty on Tuesday to overdriving and torturing an animal after he used a power drill on his three-month old Newfoundland puppy. The dog’s injuries consisted of fur from its back end being torn off. Ruggerio was sentenced to 60 days with an electronic monitoring system, and three years probation. Herkimer County District Attorney John Crandall said he was satisfied with Tuesday’s sentence, because the dog suffered minor injuries and no long-term damage. On Friday, Shawn Kimball, 18, of Utica, will be sentenced in Oneida County Court after he plead guilty to aggravated cruelty to an animal, a felony, a
