A Salt Lake City man is facing multiple charges, some of them felonies, related to animal abuse. Leonardo Tafolla, 25, of Salt Lake City, has been charged with two counts of torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony, and two counts of cruelty to an animal, a class B misdemeanor. Prosecutors allege that Tafolla threw Chika, a poodle-mix, to the ground as punishment for pooping in his room, saying that the dog deserved it and that he felt no remorse for having done so.
A veterinarian examined the dog and determined she had a broken leg, head trauma, and several stillborn puppies still in utero. The next say a vet also examined the dog belonging to Tafolla's mother and determined it too had suffered head trauma and even had a concussion. Several days after that the mother took yet another pet to the vet as she reported the man's kitten had blood on her mouth and that her jaw was hanging "way down." It was determined by a veterinarian that the kitten's jaw was broken and that surgery was required in order to wire it shut. It was also in various stages of healing with multiple fractures all over it's face and cheek area.
Bail for Tafolla has been set at $100,000.
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