Dispatch:
A Columbus firefighter admits that he took his two dogs to the basement, tied them up and blasted them with a rifle so he and a girlfriend could vacation without paying to board the animals.....
...Firefighter David P. Santuomo, 43, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of a criminal tool -- for taping a 2-liter plastic bottle onto the gun as a makeshift silencer....
...Santuomo, who did not give a statement in court, will spend 90 days in jail, pay $4,500 to cover the cost of his investigation and serve five years' probation, Judge Harland H. Hale ruled....
This is absolutely disgusting.Our family has pets and we've always had to pay for boarding. Some people will leave pets under the care of a trusted neighbor/friend, or hire a pet sitter. If he was unable to care for his animals, he should have surrendered them to his local shelter. I think that the judge should also have made this man do a couple thousand hours of community service.
