A Massachusetts man pleaded responsible to giving his canine fentanyl earlier than stabbing the animal to loss of life earlier this 12 months.
Jonathan Paluzzi, 45, of Kingston, obtained a sentence of 5 to seven years in state jail after getting into a responsible plea to 2 counts every of animal cruelty and witness intimidation, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office stated Friday.
Paluzzi was arrested on Jan. 31 after a 911 name to his Kingston Collection Way house. A caller reported listening to noises together with shuffling and a canine whining, adopted by silence.
Police discovered the physique of Paluzzi’s canine, a 60-pound bull-terrier combine named Brutus, with stab wounds.
Paluzzi was initially charged with animal cruelty and possession of a Class A drug.
Authorities stated Paluzzi had tried to have Brutus euthanized by a veterinarian, however the animal care middle refused as a result of the canine was wholesome.
He then tried to poison Brutus by giving him fentanyl. When this additionally did not kill the canine, authorities stated Paluzzi fatally stabbed him with a set of bent grill prongs.
Paluzzi’s mother and father told NBC10 Boston after his arrest that he beloved Brutus and tried to offer the animal up as a result of he was making an attempt to enter rehab.
“They had been joined on the hip,” Paul Paluzzi stated Tuesday about his son and Brutus. “Anytime my son would go away to exit or have a smoke or he put down his pet food, he wouldn’t contact it till John got here again.”
His mom, Janice Paluzzi, stated her son needed to fight his drug dependancy however realized his mother and father couldn’t deal with the canine on their very own.
“’I’m sick and uninterested in getting excessive, profiting from you guys, and feeling like this,’ and he stated, ‘So I’ll must put Brutus down,’” she stated.
Paluzzi’s mother and father stated he was excessive on fentanyl when he killed the animal, and so they’re praying he will get the assistance he wants.
Prosecutors famous that the excessive finish of Paluzzi’s sentencing vary, seven years, is the utmost penalty for animal cruelty underneath Massachusetts legislation.
