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Man Found Guilty Of Animal Cruelty, Abused 6-Month-Old Puppy Available For Adoption

The former owner of a 6-month-old puppy was found guilty of animal cruelty Tuesday, and the puppy is now available for adoption as a result, officials said.

Zachary Matthew Burnette, 25, of Tennessee, was found guilty to one count of animal cruelty. As a result, a judge ruled that Burnette could no longer own the 6-month-old puppy that he was charged with abusing.

On April 5, deputies with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station detained a man after he was seen “harshly” abusing a puppy, according to officials.

Deputies were alerted of the sound of a dog “loudly yelping, whimpering outside of a business in the parking lot, and at first thought a dog had been hit by a car,” according to Shirley Miller, spokesperson for the station.

When deputies arrived to the 23600 block of Lyons Avenue in Newhall, they discovered that no dog had been hit by a vehicle, according to officials.

“[The] 6-month-old puppy was allegedly witnessed being struck and harshly disciplined by its owner for relieving itself in his vehicle,” said Miller.

Burnette was arrested on charges of animal cruelty, and transported to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station jail, where his bail was set at $20,000, according to arrest records.

Deputies coaxed the scared puppy from the car and transported her to the custody of LA County Animal Care and Control.

The puppy is described as a brown Labrador Retriever named Sassfrass. She is now available for adoption at the Castaic Animal Care Center.


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Man Found Guilty Of Animal Cruelty, Abused 6-Month-Old Puppy Available For Adoption

2 comments

  1. Throw him in Jail…let the guys have fun with him.
    Idiot.

  2. There has to be a special hell for people like that.

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About Michael Brown

Michael Brown has lived in Santa Clarita his whole life. Graduating from Saugus High School in 2016, he continued to stay local by attending The Master’s University, where he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Michael joined KHTS in January of 2018 as a news intern, and has since gone on to become the News Director for the KHTS Newsroom. Since joining KHTS, Michael has covered many breaking news stories (both on scene and on air), interviewed dozens of prominent state and federal political figures, and interacted with hundreds of residents from Santa Clarita. When he is not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, as well as reading any comic book he can get his hands on.