A Felonious Trip to Disney World

"Jason Griffin, it's January. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to Disney World! And starve my dog to death."



This story is very disturbing.

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- He went on vacation, and left his dog to die.

A man who admitted that his dog starved to death in a basement closet while he took his 7-year-old daughter on a vacation to Disney World was sentenced Tuesday to one year in jail.

Jason Griffin, 27, received the maximum sentence for aggravated cruelty to animals after pleading guilty March 10 in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, prosecutors said.

Griffin just left his labrador-pit bull mix without any food or water for over a week while he vacationed at Disney World.

The prosecutor in the case said that the dog "suffered unmeasurable pain." Because of his cruelty, Griffin was sentenced to a year in jail.

Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Glenn Kurtzrock claims that he got more than one hundred letters from animal lovers all over the country and Canada, urging that Griffin receive a harsh penalty for his crime.

I think a year in jail is fitting.

Kurtzrock believes that Griffin's daughter is currently staying with relatives. That's good. Even after Griffin serves his jail time, I question whether a man who is willing to leave his dog without food or water for more than a week should be allowed to care for a child.

There's something disjointed about going to Disney World while killing your dog. The "Happiest Place on Earth" juxtaposed with a basement closet torture chamber is creepy.

I don't know if Griffin is a good dad or not, but he definitely is a horrible pet owner.

Under New York law, AGM, Article 26, § 353-a. Aggravated cruelty to animals:

1. A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, "aggravated cruelty" shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.

Under § 353. Overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance, a person who deprives "any animal of necessary sustenance, food or drink, or neglects or refuses to furnish it such sustenance or drink" is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Obviously, New York has strict animal welfare laws; and at least in Griffin's case, they are enforced. Griffin was convicted of a felony for what he did to his dog.

I think that's appropriate. Torturing an animal runs counter to the values of our society. The way Griffin treated his dog was beyond cruel. It was barbaric. This does not pass for appropriate behavior among civilized people.

So, someone explain to me why it was acceptable to deprive Terri Schiavo of "necessary sustenance."

As a society, we will not tolerate the starvation and dehydration of a dog. Good.

As a society, how can we possibly tolerate the starvation and dehydration of a human being?

That's wrong. It's inhumane. It's morally repugnant.

I think of such treatment as a crime against humanity.