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VICTORY: Burned Puppy Gets Happy Ending, While Her Abuser Gets Jail

VICTORY: Burned Puppy Gets Happy Ending, While Her Abuser Gets Jail

Thousands were outraged after hearing the story of Korra, a small puppy who was trapped in a crate and set on fire in a park last year in Columbus, Ohio. Korra survived and has since been adopted. Her abuser was just sentenced to three years of jail for his cruel act, thanks to you.

When Columbus firefighters responded to a report of a fire in Walnut Hill Park last year, they discovered a small area of melted plastic burning under a tree. While they were putting the fire out, they saw a small puppy running in the area, noticed she had plastic melted on her back, and realized she had been inside the crate.

The puppy was rushed to Diley Hill Animal Emergency Center, and the Columbus Division of Fire asked the public for any information about who committed this act of cruelty.

Within 24 hours, investigators identified Johnson, a Columbus resident who confessed to the crime. He was arrested on October 15, 2020, and then indicted by a grand jury. When he evaded arrest for failure to appear on a separate charge for violating his parole, we issued a $1,000 reward for his arrest.

More than 12,000 of you also signed our alert asking the district attorney to seek maximum penalties for this crime.

At the beginning of July, Johnson was sentenced to three years in prison and prohibited from “owning” or caring for an animal for 20 years. He also has to register for life as an arson offender and was ordered to pay restitution to the animal hospital that cared for Korra and treated her injuries. 

Korra was adopted by a staff member from the animal hospital and is now living a life full of love she deserves.

For more on how to take action for animals, visit our Justice for Animals campaign. 

Donations to support our work are vital to securing victories for animal victims of violence. We hope you are able to help. Thank you.

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