On Nov 2 2015, a 27-year-old Virginia man pled guilty to the shocking torture death of his own dog, an act of cruelty that a veteran animal control officer called "one of the worst cases" ever seen.
The charred remains of the dog named Lucky were discovered by firefighters responding to a small brush fire,
After the fire was put out, the dog's body, nylon rope, a muzzle and a can of lighter fluid were found at the scene. Investigators later determined Lucky had been burned alive.
Using a microchip recovered from Lucky's body, authorities were able to track down the dog's owner, 27-year-old Arthur M. Vieira, who adopted Lucky off Craigslist after her previous family could no longer afford to care for the dog.
According to police, Vieira initially said he had given the dog away, then said she had run away, before finally admitting he'd tied Lucky's feet together, muzzled her snout, doused her with lighter fluid and set her on fire. Vieira claimed he had punched Lucky after she bit him, and burned her body thinking she was dead.
"I can't even begin to comprehend why somebody would do something like this. I don't think any of us can," animal control officer Meghan Conti said. "If a person's capable of torturing an animal in this manner, what else are they capable of doing?"
Vieira now faces up to seven years in prison on charges of felony animal cruelty, misdemeanor obstructing justice and misdemeanor dumping companion animals on private property. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 13.
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