For weeks, the FBI have been lookingforRichard Cope, a 50-year-old man from Indiana, accused of torturinghis Pitbull puppy.Last December, on Christmas Day no less, Chance, afour-month-old Pitbull puppy, was found with his muzzle taped shut with duct tape. Starving, thirsty andgasping for air, his hips had also been broken.Animal rescue workers said Chance's injuries were the worst they had ever seen.
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The man accused of such horrific crimes fled once the police issued a warrant for his arrest, and had sincebeen on the run for weeks.But on Sunday 31st January, the police finally arrestedthe culprit who had tried to escape the hands of justice. He made it all the way to El Paso, Texas, almost 1000 miles away from where his poor, injured dog had been found.
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On Christmas Day, a family heard a strange noise coming from their garden, and they discovered it was the puppy who was making desperate attempts to breathe.Thankfully, the family rescued Chance just in time. ThePitbull had clearly managed to escape from the hands of his torturer, who lived nearby.
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Camille Germain, who first came to his help, toldthe local news:
He couldn’t breathe through his mouth. But we didn’t want to hurt him trying to take off the tape...
They took himstraightto the emergency vet, where thankfully they could still operate on the puppy and save his life. When they examined him, the doctors discovered that both of Chance's back legs had been broken, and they estimated that his muzzle had been duct taped like that for 48 hours.
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Luckily, the young Pitbull recovered quickly and was very affectionate to his saviours and the vets who nursed him. He may still have the scars from the awful cruelty he was subjected to, but he now seems ready to trust humans again.TheGuardians of the Green Mileshelter, where he recovered, received thousands of dollars of donations for the puppy's care. They are soon putting the adorable puppy up for adoption.
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As for his abuser,Cope will almost certainlybe prosecuted for acts of animal cruelty. Since it's been proven that he was the dog'sowner, it seems likely that he was also his torturer, after he went on the run after a warrant for his arrest was issued.
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He risks being sentenced to a maximum of 6 and a half years in prison, according to Indiana state law.
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