Suspect in dog abuse case ‘ wanted to hurt ex’
Police have extended the detention of 30- year- old oleh ( new immigrant) Alan Ross Morrison after he was arrested for abusing his dog to get back at his ex- girlfriend.
The dog – named Taylor, according to KAN – is confirmed to be in good condition after it was examined in an Agriculture Ministry facility. Though cautious and upset at first, he is in a good mood and is sociable, according to an Agriculture Ministry statement.
Video of the abuse circulated on social media and went viral Tuesday night. After just an hour of going viral, a mob of 200 people gathered on Tuesday night outside Morrison’s private residence in Bat Yam.
Local police officers who were called to the scene were initially unable to reach Morrison, as the furious mob demanded justice, with several people physically trying to enter the suspect’s house in what could have turned into a public lynching.
Morrison was eventually “smuggled” through a window by police officers, who then arrested him and took him in for questioning. The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court extended his detention by five days and ordered him to receive a psychiatric evaluation on Wednesday morning, according to a police statement.
His attorney, Keren Blass, said Morrison expressed “sorrow and remorse” for his actions, according to The Jerusalem
sister publication, Maariv.
Upon Morrison’s arrest, police officers were also able to rescue Taylor alongside a team from the Agriculture Ministry, who had been notified of the incident by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Israel ( SPCA), from where the dog was originally adopted. He was then brought over to an Agriculture Ministry facility, from where he will be given to one of the country’s animal welfare groups and placed up for adoption.
“The dog is receiving lots of care, pets, warmth and love in our facility,” Dr. Dagnit Ben- Dov, an Agriculture Ministry veterinarian who had accompanied the dog throughout the ordeal, said in a statement.
“It turns out the dog has a very good and strong character, and he’s very grateful.”
The incident provoked condemnations from politicians and animal rights organizations, as well as calls to make harsher punishments for animal abuse.
One such condemnation came from Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, who urged for stricter punishments for animal abuse and taking enforcement more seriously.
“I witnessed this morning the horrific abuse suffered by a dog in Bat Yam that united the entire country, as well as the efforts of many good people to save him,” Liberman wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of the dog.
“This time there was a happy ending, but the punishment for animal abusers must be made stricter.”