A Goleta man who pleaded no contest to torturing his dog to death earlier this year was sentenced to three years of probation Tuesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Judge Clifford Anderson suspended the one-year jail sentence he handed down to Kyle Zachery Barbre for demonstrating that he’s been “productive” with anger management and other behavioral programs he has been enrolled in.
Barbre must continue those programs and not violate the terms of his probation in order to avoid the jail time.
In June, sheriff’s deputies arrested the 21-year-old after a lengthy investigation conducted in conjunction with Santa Barbara County Animal Services.
Barbre was charged with one count of felony animal cruelty for what Deputy District Attorney Kevin Weichbrod had called “maliciously and fatally” injuring his recently adopted 1-year-old Chihuahua, Floyd.
Barbre pleaded no contest to the offense.
The case sparked an online petition by local advocacy group Davey’s Voice calling on law enforcement, the judicial system and legislators to impose harsher penalties for animal abusers.
“We want the punishment to fit the crime,” said Lynne Shaw with Davey’s Voice. “A lot of the time when you have animal abuse cases, we don’t think the judges take them too seriously.”
As of Tuesday morning, the Change.org petition asking for a harsher sentence for Barbre had amassed over 3,000 signatures.
Davey’s Voice organized a small rally outside Superior Court during Barbre’s sentencing to protest “slaps on the wrist” for violent animal-abuse crimes.
“We want our judges and lawmakers to do something about it,” Shaw said. “We’re tired of seeing these people get probation.”
Davey’s Voice was named for the victim of another local animal-abuse case.
In March, Duanying Chen was deported to China after serving six months of a one-year jail sentence for animal cruelty charges and for assaulting and strangling his girlfriend, who owned the puppy that veterinarians at Advanced Veterinary Specialists renamed Davey.
The dog was euthanized due to its injuries, authorities said.
Shaw said that if people believe a neighbor is committing animal abuse, they should call 9-1-1 or local animal control services.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.