The Pinellas County, Fla., woman who is accused of letting a puppy suffer with a rubberband around his nose for weeks, has been found guilty and sentenced for her crime.
According to Wednesday's WTSP News, Tieesha Cogdell was sentenced to six months in jail and is now prohibited from owning dogs for the remainder of her life.
The puppy at the center of the cruelty trial is "Sox," a Yorkshire terrier-poodle mix.
Sox was discovered in Dec. 2011, after Cogdell's children informed a school employee that their mom was letting a dog die in the bathroom.
The tip led SPCA investigators to Cogdell's home where they found Sox with a rubberband so tightly wrapped around his snout that it had not only grown into his flesh, but it was interfering with his breathing.
Cogdell claimed that she did not notice the band around Sox's snout.
The 32-year-old woman's lawyer, Vincent Massaro, argued that his client was not guilty of criminal activity, stating that she was instead, an "imperfect pet owner."
He went on to state:
"He might not have been ready for the Westminster Dog Show,"
"but that's not animal cruelty."
The jury, who deliberated just 20 minutes, did not agree.
Cogdell spoke after the guilty verdict, stating:
"I don't think I did anything wrong,"
In addition to Cogdell's jail time, she will have to pay restitution to the Tampa Bay SPCA who cared for Sox while he recovered.
The puppy has since been adopted to a new family.
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