A man was recently sentenced to prison time for fatally starving his dog, a two-year-old Doberman pinscher named Lou...36-year-old David Neanover, who pleaded no contest, to 180 days in prison for one account of animal cruelty and 90 days for a second, along with 180 days for domestic violence. The sentences will run concurrently.
Lou - mage Credit: Facebook/Animal Friends Humane Society
A man from Butler County, Ohio was recently sentenced to prison time for
fatally starving his dog, a two-year-old Doberman pinscher named Lou.
Judge Robert Lyons sentenced 36-year-old David Neanover, who pleaded no
contest, to 180 days in prison for one account of animal cruelty and 90 days
for a second, along with 180 days for domestic violence. The sentences will
run concurrently.
Neanover, who had sadistically named the Doberman pinscher “Lucifer,” was
originally charged with felony cruelty to a companion animal and taken into
custody, where he was held on $25,000 bond. After posting bail, he was free
within days, and shortly after, his charges were lowered to first degree
misdemeanors, sparking outrage among activists. As the trial approached,
letters urging the judge to impose the maximum sentence poured in from as
far away as Florida.
Acting on anonymous complaints, police reported to Neanover’s Reily Township
home in May 2019, where they discovered Lou starved and clinging to life in
the backyard without food or water. The pup was taken to a local animal
hospital, where veterinarians discovered that he was 23 pounds underweight
and had ulcers on his tongue, making it difficult for him to eat or drink.
His emaciated body was covered in open wounds from a fungal infection, and
an X-ray showed rocks in the dog’s stomach, which he had eaten out of
desperation to survive.
“No normal human being could look at this dog and think this is acceptable,”
Sheriff Richard Jones said at the time. “Animal Friends will do everything
they can to save this poor animal, but the current condition is very bad.”
Vets scrambled to save Lou’s life, but he was too weak to continue fighting
and passed away five days later.
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