Dog Abuse Case Closed: PETA Thanks Those Involved in Conviction

Dog Thrown Off Hillside Is Now in Happy Home; Dog-Shaped Vegan Chocolates Go to Law-Enforcement Professionals, Forensic Veterinarian, and Concerned Citizens

For Immediate Release:
September 5, 2017

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Boxes of dog-shaped vegan chocolates are on their way from PETA to the individuals who helped with the arrest and conviction on a felony cruelty charge of Andres Spancky Raya, who was caught on surveillance video throwing his dog—then known as Mary Jane—twice into a City Terrace ravine. Raya’s sentencing is set for September 6—he faces up to five years in state prison.

Mary Jane, who sustained broken ribs from the incident, is now named Hera and is living in a loving new adoptive home.

“Thanks to this hard-working team of professionals and concerned citizens, this dog will never again experience the terror of being flung off a hillside,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA hopes to see her abuser off the streets and permanently banned from owning animals.”

The thank-you chocolates were sent to officers Jesus Larios and Armando Ferrufino of the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control, department forensic veterinarian Amy M. Raines and executive assistant Harold Holmes, Deputy District Attorney and Animal Cruelty Case Coordinator Kimberly Abourezk, Deputy District Attorney Alexandra Campbell, Senior Investigator Tim Siedentopp of the Los Angeles County Bureau of Investigation, and Krisanto Paragas, who rescued Hera, reported the crime, and provided the video evidence that led to Raya’s arrest.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that according to leading mental-health professionals and law-enforcement agencies, perpetrators of violent acts against animals are often repeat offenders who pose a serious threat to the community at large.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.