Peter Minichello, West Islip, NY man sentenced to 4 months jail and a lifetime ban on ever owning any pets, Suffolk County prosecutors announce after beating his aunt’s chihuahua pet dog to death.
A Long Island, NY man has been barred from ever owning pets after he admitted to beating his aunt’s aunt’s chihuahua to death, along with being sentenced to 4 month jail, prosecutors stated Monday.
Peter Minichello, 22, of West Islip, confessed to attacking the 5-year-old dog — named Pup-Pup — on July 6, 2022, causing grisly injuries that led to the animal’s death days later, according to a release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Minichello had been left alone with a perfectly healthy dog at his home while his mother and aunt were at work that day, prosecutors said.
But when Minichello’s aunt came home, the small dog was sprawled motionless in his crate, bloodied and covered in bruises.
The canine was rushed to a veterinarian, where it was determined he’d suffered broken ribs, blunt force trauma to the head and torso, and had sustained a penetrating wound on an elbow.
The pet dog died of a traumatic brain injury days later according to the nypost.
It remained unclear what led to Minichello egregiously battering the small animal.
Minichello confessed to the attack in June, pleading guilty to a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals and criminal mischief, also a felony.
‘What this defendant put an innocent animal through is as shocking as it is deplorable,’ District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
‘A dog’s love is unconditional, and my heart goes out to the defendant’s aunt who lost a beloved companion.’
