A North Charleston man pleaded guilty Monday to taping a dog's muzzle shut, causing painful and life-threatening injuries.
William Dodson’s neighbors called police in May 2015 when they found Caitlyn, his 15-month-old pit bull, with electrical tape around her mouth.
Police charged Dodson with ill treatment of animals, which carries a punishment of up to five years in prison. His sentencing hearing will be held later.
Charleston Animal Society CEO Joe Elmore wants Dodson to serve the entire sentence, because he said Caitlyn would have died if neighbors had not intervened.
Workers at the animal society have been nursing Caitlyn back to health and plan to foster her for the rest of her life.
"She has made an amazing recovery so far physically. But emotionally and behaviorally, she is still traumatized from that incident," Elmore told WCIV.
Caitlyn has become the face of the movement to end animal cruelty with her story shared on major news outlets around the world, officials said. Twitter users adopted the hashtag #IAmCaitlyn.
“Today’s plea shows progress, but cruelty laws in South Carolina still lag behind the rest of the country and are in great need of improvement,” Aldwin Roman, the animal society’s director of anti-cruelty and outreach, said. “We are committed to working with lawmakers, police and prosecutors to make sure justice is done for all animals who are abused like Caitlyn.”
Learn more about Caitlyn's recovery on the Charleston Animal Society's Facebook page.
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