He didn´t what he´d done to try separating the two? Or was this the same twisted judge who denied Allen West´s recount?

Dog and owner of dog would be seriously wounded if that had been my cat. Stepping on the cat so that his damn dog could kill it or maybe he wanted to help kill the kitty. Either way, I am glad he is out of society.

I walk with a goofy yellow lab who has never met a human she doesn´t like. But when she sees a cat ´´apparently resting´´ in a driveway she turns into a lunging, leaping dervish. We have a retractable leash and I have to walk continually scanning for loose cats. I reel in the leash tight until we safely pass the cats. Cats and dogs don´t usually co-exist peacefully outdoors - I can´t imagine how I would handle a pit - 75 lbs of lab is hard enough. But, if folks kept their cats inside (as is the law around here) this would not be an issue.

All that said, there seems to be something vital missing in this story for an 82 y/o man to be sentenced in this manner. I´m not saying that the dog owner has no responsibility, I am saying that 2 years in jail plus 3 years probation seems to be excessive punishment...

Correction: Why didn´t he point out what he´d done to protect the cat? Who gets the dog now, and does the judge realize he probably handed out a life sentence?

This 82 year old man walked his dog onto a private driveway to let his dog kill a cat.
It sure sounds like justice that the dog owner got jail time.

However, I have seen far more injustice handed out in this country.

So, if you own a cat, it is allowed to roam freely because that is in a cats nature. I have witnessed many cats establishing territory in their neighborhood by having blood drawing fights. Also, little snowball has no compunction to walk on my car with its muddy paws. Also, in some rare instances curl up on my engine and take a quick nap (starting the engine I have injured or killed a number of these squatters).

The sentence is extreme and stupid.

Dang video cameras.

I own the world´s friendliest Golden Retriever; she even gets along with the family cat but that´s where she draws the line. The other cats in the neighborhood are all excellent tree-climbers.

I´d give the bum 9 life sentences.

Other people´s lives are as easy to destroy as their money is easy to spend.

Stopstoreload (82 years old but very loveable.

Angela (The Office) would silently but smugly nod in agreement.

The cat was on his property, resting, bothering no one. The man trespassed intentionally and allowed his dog to viciously kill the cat. He is responsible. What his dog did was illegal. Change "cat" to "small dog" and see who on this thread changes their tune.

He deliberately set the dog on the cat, and helped the dog kill it by stepping on it.

He should have stayed off private property.
He shouldn´t have stepped on the cat.

I believe no one would deny his responsibility. The sentence is what appears extreme. Everyone´s pet is loved and precious, no doubt. The point isn´t that he did not control his dog, it´s that he was sentenced as severely as he was...

What a creep. He had no business walking up someone else´s driveway. And he had to know that his dog would lunge for the cat.

It´s a shame that taxpayers are on the hook for this jerk´s room & board. He should get a life sentence of community service at a cat rescue/shelter and a hefty fine, to be paid to the cat´s owner.
Ramona (the Pest)

Maybe his pension ran out and he needed a cot and 3 a day.

The man was very wrong, but I also never allow my Posey to go out of doors. In fact
you can´t drag her outside. She is thinking of the vet touching her royal body and does not care for. Outside to her is the car and ride to vets.

What a hideous old coot.

Too bad he didn´t just kill a fetus instead of a cat. He would have been applauded.

I totally disagree with his actions and think he should be heavily fined, but I disagree with the jail time. What did the judge do, have the dog "put down" because it was homeless?

I thought I´d stumbled onto a PETA site by mistake. A dog killed a cat -- they´re both animals acting like animals. Now an 82-year-old man gets what amounts to a life sentence and you are cheering. Scary.

FTA "Hamilton was arrested over the animal´s death in July and held without bond because of his involvement in an unrelated case of aggravated battery."

Evil Man took his dog onto private property and stepped on the poor animal so his dog could kill it. The cat´s owner, the little girl who lived there, found her as a kitten and cared for her and loved her for twelve years. How sad. Good riddance to that creep!

#6 my thoughts fall in with yours

Freedom in this country has been a topic of discussion quite often in this forum. I cannot see how so many people can watch this video and not see the intent of the man with the dog. It simply doesn´t matter what anyone here thinks about cats, where they are kept, or whether they were just acting like animals. We are a land of laws. I think I´ve heard that a few times here. The cat was lying in his own driveway. He wasn´t near the sidewalk. The man walked to the far end of the driveway to get to the cat. If you cannot see the crime here, maybe you need to have someone or something you care about ripped from your life for no reason.

It´s too bad Mary Jo Kopechne wasn´t a cat.

Non sequitur, #24

These were animals doing what animals do. If people love their cats (and neighborhood birds), they will keep their cats inside at all time. In case you think that is prejudiced, that is EXACTLY what the lady at the local SPCA told us when we adopted our cat from the shelter.

If you are going to walk your dog, you have a legal responsibility to keep it under controal at all times. This guy didn´t, so he does have liability here.

But this guy deserves a fine, but not jail time. The real loosers here are the taxpayers that will have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep this man in jail, along with picking up all of his medical bills (of which you know there will be many with any 82 year old man), for the next three years.

If this happened in Texas, he would have been shot.

...And the dog, too.

Forget the jail. Just have the old man rest in a lawn chair in his yard. I bring a couple of pit bulls into his yard and hold him down while the dogs maul him. Sounds fair.

Gee, I wonder what Obama will get for letting four Americans die in Libya!

Another Nobel Peace Prize.

I was startled by the man´s mug shot.

Most 82 year old men don´t look that handsome -- nor that demonic.

The vicious comments are beyond any remarks a human being should make.

I yield to no one in my love for cats. That said, I think three years´ jail time is ridiculous - especially in a country where I´ve read that home invader burglars get a slap on the wrist.

Probation, serious fine, and never let this evil old creep own another pet is reasonable. Save the prison space for people who harm humans.

If that rat b walked up my driveway and sic´ed his dog on my cat he´d be sporting a neat 9 mm beauty mark in the middle of his forehead. Let the b die in jail. Hopefully his cellmate will be a 300 lb Haitian witch doctor with a taste for...well never mind.

An the President of this country causes 4 deaths and is allowed to run free.

No it is NOT scary. Three years for intentionally letting his dog kill someone else´s pet and helping by stepping on it, is lenient if anything!!! And what does it matter if he is 82 or 22. He is an adult and knows better. He doesn´t deserve leniency simply because he is old. If he had beat a person and took their wallet, would you give him a lesser sentence because he is old? The cat was on its own property minding its own business. Just because some of you don´t like cats doesn´t make the crime any less. As another poster mentioned, what if it was a small dog? If ANYONE touched one tiny hair on my cat´s head, they would be sorry they were born. He is my child and his life is just as important to me.

#7,

This cat wasn´t roaming freely at the time, it was in its owner´s driveway. The dog and the man were trespassing by walking onto the property instead of staying on the sidewalk.

I think the old man had seen the cat before and didn´t like cats. He wanted his dog to do away with it. This is the reason mine stay indoors - not just because we live in a colder climate now, but because some cat haters are rather twisted and sadistic toward them. Dogs run freely in some neighborhoods as well, and busy streets aren´t friendly to any wandering pet: dog, cat or whatever.

A pit bull is not a dog. It´s a vicious killing machine and they should be shot on sight. Certain breeds shouldn´t be allowed to exit and pit bulls top the list. That´s why Michael Vick is my hero.

You animal lovers need to get a sense of proportion. I´m appalled at the willingness to shoot or have pit bulls maul a human over a cat being killed. I have been a reader of Lucianne since the Clinton scandal and thought that the posters were conservative and knew that humans are set apart from animals by being made in the likeness of God -- it´s enough to make me skip reading the posts. Fine the guy if he allowed his dog to kill a family pet, but jail? It´s nuts.

The jail sentence may have something to do with this man´s criminal record, although the prior assault charge against a person apparently hasn´t been before a judge yet. Anyway, he doesn´t seem like a nice guy.

What do you expect from a state who allows 147% of it´s voters to cast ballots....more corrupt than Chicago...

Good.
~ Cat Lover

#24 - - It´s too bad Mary Jo Kopechne wasn´t a cat.

#25 - - Non sequitur, #24

Errrr - - what it means is - - if Mary Jo were a cat, then Teddy would´ve gotten the long stretch in the pokey which he deserved. But - - since Mary Jo weren´t a cat - - Teddy just swam away.

Oh.

That old guy probably got fed up complaining to the neighbor about the cat peeing on his house and crapping all over the place.