Chunky the dog inspires petition for Animal Cruelty Register after thugs left him for dead
by Cristina Venturoso
When Chunky was found battered and burned on a rubbish tip last November, the cruelty of his treatment shocked those who rescued him.
Pup: Chunky's owners have been backing the campaign for justice which calls for a register of those who inflict cruelty on animals.
With his adorable face scorched and legs broken, Chunky's treatment by sick thugs shocked animal lovers when he was found last year.
The one-year-old chihuahua-cross was left for dead when he was targeted in a completely unprovoked attack - described as the “worst-ever” by an RSPCA inspector.
But now more than 450,000 people have signed a petition asking the government to set up an Animal Cruelty Register.
And the organisers are getting set to hand over the 11 pages of signatures and 96,000 comments to a member of parliament for delivery to government.
The online campaign, which was started by Maxine Berry, asks that offenders who have animal cruelty convictions be added to the lifelong list precluding them from ever owning animals.
Drugged-up teenagers subjected Chunky to the appalling cruelty in November.
The pup was stolen from his owner by four teenagers who carried out the brutal torture .
The RSPCA found Chunky abandoned near the rubbish tip before reports on Facebook revealed what had actually happened to him.
Battered: Chunky was tortured by drugged up teenagers who set him on fire
Three of the teenagers, two aged 16 and one aged 15 at the time of the offence, had admitted to punching and kicking Chunky, before breaking his leg and neck.
They then set fire to his face by lighting an aerosol deodorant can, before feeding him drugs and dumping him at a rubbish tip in Margate, Kent.
Investigations by the RSPCA revealed he was taken on February 24 and tortured over a period of several hours before being dumping him the next day.
The group thought the dog was dead , and he was not discovered until the following evening by a passer-by.
Cruelty: The teens set fire to Chunky's face by lighting an aerosol deodorant can
The trio, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty in October to ill-treating the animal in a way which they knew would cause him to suffer unnecessarily.
They were all disqualified from keeping all animals for five years, given a referral order for 12 months and ordered to pay costs.
But critics say five years is not enough, and have pleading for a change in the law which would keep the names of offenders on record for life.
The Justice for Chunky petition, on Change.org , reads: "What shocked me is that these abusers and others like them will be able to own an animal again one day. There’s nothing to prevent them doing this again."
Recovery: Since the incident in November, Chunky has been nursed back to health by his owners
"I'm asking that anyone who abuses animals, regardless of their age, be placed on an Animal Cruelty Register which would follow them for life," it adds.
"In some states in the US they already have animal abuse registries.
"If this had happened in New York these abusers would have to sign onto an animal abuse list that would prevent them from ownership of animals. The UK need to introduce a similar law."
Last week, Ms Berry added: "We ready to hand a letter over to our MP Sir Roger Gale whom I have been in contact with from North Thanet. "He is going to hand our petition over to Minister of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment George Eustice MP." Chunky himself is doing better, with his owner sharing images of the little dog on the road to recovery on his very own Facebook page .
