MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Mineola man was sentenced today to two months in jail, five years’ probation, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,639 for abusing a 10-pound Toy Poodle owned by his landlord.
Peter Granath, 26, pleaded guilty before Judge William O’Brien on August 21 to charges of Criminal Mischief in the Third Degree (an E felony) and Overdriving, Torturing, and Injuring Animals (an A misdemeanor).
“This defendant sadistically tortured a 10-pound Toy Poodle, causing a concussion and many other serious injuries,” DA Singas said. “My office takes crimes against animals very seriously because we know that those who abuse animals often harm people too. We wish Layla a continued and speedy recovery.”
DA Singas said the defendant rented a bedroom apartment on Wellington Road in Mineola and lived there for approximately a month when the property owner and her adult children noticed unexplainable injuries to the family’s eight-year-old Toy Poodle named Layla. After family members returned home from work and school on the night of March 29, they noticed that the dog was in serious distress and rushed Layla to a veterinarian for emergency care.
The veterinarian diagnosed the 10-pound dog with a concussion, trauma to the jaw, multiple, bilateral rib fractures, blood in urine, corneal ulcers and bruising about the body and concluded that the injuries were consistent with the infliction of blunt force trauma and not accidental. The defendant was the only person with access to the dog during the day on March 29.
Layla is still recovering from her injuries and veterinary care continues to this date. The defendant no longer lives in the home and stay away orders of protection were ordered for the family.
Chief of the Animal Crimes Unit, Jed Painter, and Assistant District Attorney Helene Weiss are prosecuting this case. Samuel Reiff, Esq. represents the defendant.
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