A 41-year-old D.C. man was sentenced to jail after leaving a dog caged in abandoned home in Northeast Washington. Mohamed Kamara on Friday was sentenced to six days in jail and placed on two years probation after pleading guilty to animal cruelty.
The dog died.
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“It is tragic that an innocent animal was left alone to suffer slowly and painfully at the hands of his human caregiver,” said Scott Giacoppo of the Washington Humane Society. “We are pleased that the man responsible has been brought to justice and will pay for his callous and inhumane actions.”
According to police, Kamara’s landlord called authorities in July after discovering the dog in the basement of a home in the 2800 block of 4th Street NE. The landlord said the dog’s family had moved out two months earlier.
<br/><small><a href=”http://maps.google.com/maps?q=2800+block+of+4th+Street+NE&oe=utf-8&client=seamonkey-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&hq=&hnear=2800+4th+St+NE,+Washington,+District+of+Columbia+20017&t=m&z=14&vpsrc=0&ll=38.925587,-77.000558&source=embed” style=”color:#0000FF;text-align:left”>View Larger Map</a></small> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>In the basement, police found was a pitbull mix in a large wire dog crate full of dog feces and chewed up plastic bowls, according to the arrest report. A large amount of feces appeared to have been pushed out of the crate by the dog.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The dog was still alive, but barely breathing, police said.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The dog was taken to a veterinary hospital but it was too weak to stand or hold up his head. He was 20 pounds, about half of what he should weigh. He had several infected pressure sores for lying motionless on the hard cage floor for so long, police said.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The dog received intensive treatment for nine days but he was unable to recover, authorities said.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Kamara told investigators that he was given the dog in January by a friend who could no longer take of it. Kamara said he wanted the dog for protection and to see whether his children were responsible enough to care for a pet.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>But in May, Kamara said he moved his family to a new place that did not allow dogs.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Kamara said he occasionally visited the dog to care for him, and he thought the dog was well.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>When investigators showed him pictures of the dog, he admitted that he had been by the house that morning to retrieve some things, but he didn’t go into the basement because it was too dark.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>Kamara admitted that he couldn’t remember the last time he did anything to take care of the dog, police said.</span></p> <p><span style=”font-style:italic;” class=”EndEmailTag”><i><a href=” mailto:[email protected] “>[email protected]</a></i></span></p>
