This dog won’t be leashed for very long.
A man who starved four pooches and forced them to live among their own feces at his family’s Bayview district doggy day care and walking company has been sentenced to 60 days in County Jail, prosecutors announced Thursday.
And while 36-year-old Abraham Taylor’s sentence for animal cruelty also includes three years of probation, a judge has allowed him to keep the three dogs he owns and to continue walking other people’s pets for the family business, Allison’s Unleashed at 951 Hudson Ave.
Taylor was found guilty on four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after an anonymous tip in March led Animal Care and Control officers to the business, which at the time was simply called Unleashed. Taylor’s sister, Allison, recently purchased the company, prosecutors said.
The officers came upon a “disgusting” scene in which four Weimaraner-retriever mixes were found living in horrific squalor.
“They were malnourished and left in their own feces,” District Attorney George Gascón said, adding that the pooches “couldn’t even walk on their own” and were frightened of people.
Gascón’s office said it pushed for stiffer penalties against Taylor, including a $15,000 fine and a probationary period in which he would be banned from partaking in any dog-related business.
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Instead, Taylor received the 60-day jail sentence and probation time and was ordered to pay $880 in fines. During the probationary period, he is banned from adopting, caring for, feeding or boarding animals other than the three dogs he already owns. But he can still walk a customer’s pooch, according to prosecutors.
While the sentence might appear light, Gascón said it reflects that the charges were misdemeanors and the dogs were not beaten.
“It’s better than not a conviction,” the district attorney said, adding that he believes the result sends a message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated in San Francisco.
Residents are urged to report abuse when they see it, Animal Care and Control Officer Ellie Sadler said.
“Even in an animal-loving city like San Francisco, crimes can occur,” she said.
Within a month of their rescue, the abused dogs nearly doubled their weights, prosecutors said. Two of the pooches have since been adopted. The other two are still looking for homes. Their profiles can be viewed at www.petfinder.com.
