A Lafayette man is accused of aggravated animal cruelty and sentenced to 30 days in jail, according to the Louisiana Humane Society.
The Humane Society of Louisiana lauds the work of the Lafayette Animal Shelter and Care Center (LASCC) for pursuing charges against a Lafayette pet owner, Randy Touchet. A confidential informant (CI) contacted the Humane Society of Louisiana on November 22 to report that Touchet had been sentenced to serve 30 days in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center for multiple municipal violations. The CI also disclosed during his incarceration, no one was caring for his two dogs, according to the Human Society. The CI said that Touchet had zip-tied the back skin of the champagne-colored pit bull and that the skin had inflated like a balloon.
The CI forwarded photos of the puppy to the Humane Society, which immediately asked the individual to take the puppy to an emergency veterinary clinic. The clinic removed the zip-tie that had effectively cut off circulation and sent him home with pain meds and antibiotics for the weekend.
On Monday, after learning of the issues, the LASCC arranged to accept custody of the two dogs and later coordinated Touchet's rebooking. In addition to his municipal violations, the deputies added two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. The presiding judge set the bond at $5,000 per count, stated in a Human Society release.
"We are grateful for everyone involved in rescuing these two long-neglected canines - from the CI who brought it to our attention, to the staff at LASCC, who worked quickly to put the case together, and to our donors who paid for the dogs' initial vet visit. Animal cruelty is a serious matter, and we are glad that Lafayette is doing its part to combat this problem," said Jeff Dorson, HSLA Director.
