Following a Humane Long Island protest demanding jail-time, a Hempstead man convicted of fatally kicking a 4-pound Yorkie during an argument with the dog’s owners will spend 2 weeks behind bars but avoid a felony conviction, a judge ordered at a Thursday sentencing.
A Nassau County jury convicted Peter Galantino, 63, in January of aggravated animal cruelty, which can carry a maximum 2-year sentence, as well as misdemeanor animal cruelty and disorderly conduct for kicking the 9-year-old Yorkshire terrier Mocha during an argument with Elizabeth Joyce and retired NYPD K-9 trainer James Joyce, formerly of Hempstead.
State Supreme Court Justice Howard Sturim set aside the felony conviction in May.
Read more in Newsday.