[h=1]Woman who tossed puppy from car found guilty of animal abuse[/h]
A heartless Staten Island woman who dumped her battered puppy in a plastic bag beside a railroad track was convicted Tuesday of felony animal abuse charges.
Alsu Ivanchenko stuffed Snowflake, an adorable white-haired Maltese mix with a broken leg, in a black bag before tossing her out of her moving car onto South Railroad Avenue last September ? all because she didn?t want to pay for the pooch?s veterinary bills, prosecutors said.
The 1-pound, 3-month-old puppy suffered a fractured skull when Ivanchenko flung her from the car like a bag of trash, prosecutors said.
<figure id="attachment_9853103" class="wp-caption alignright" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; font-family: pt-serif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); width: 200px; background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251);">Modal Trigger
<figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 0px 0px; border-width: 4px 0px 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 51, 51); font-stretch: normal; line-height: 16px; font-family: founders-grotesk-web-nypost, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; top: -3px; clear: both;">Photo: ASPCA</figcaption></figure>?It costs too much to get it treated. I couldn?t afford it. So that?s why I put it in the bag, and I put it on the side of the road,? she told cops after her Sept. 12, 2014, arrest, according to a criminal complaint.Staten Island Supreme Court Justice William Garnett found Ivanchenko guilty of felony aggravated cruelty to animals, as well as overdriving, torturing and injuring animals and abandonment of an animal, both misdemeanors, following the non-jury trial.
Snowflake ? who was later renamed Charlotte ? made a full recovery after being rescued by a passerby and rushed to an animal hospital.
She has since been adopted and lives in a loving home in Manhattan under the new name Pip, authorities said.
Ivanchenko, 35, faces up to two years behind bars and will be sentenced Oct. 27. She had rejected a pre-trial plea deal of six months in jail and restitution.
Defense attorney Matthew Myers had unsuccessfully argued that there was no proof Ivanchenko hurt the dog and that she merely left the pooch on the side of the road for someone to find. He plans to appeal.
?The defendant showed utter disregard for the well-being of this helpless dog,? said Acting DA Daniel Master Jr. ?Today, justice was secured for Charlotte.?
A heartless Staten Island woman who dumped her battered puppy in a plastic bag beside a railroad track was convicted Tuesday of felony animal abuse charges.
Alsu Ivanchenko stuffed Snowflake, an adorable white-haired Maltese mix with a broken leg, in a black bag before tossing her out of her moving car onto South Railroad Avenue last September ? all because she didn?t want to pay for the pooch?s veterinary bills, prosecutors said.
The 1-pound, 3-month-old puppy suffered a fractured skull when Ivanchenko flung her from the car like a bag of trash, prosecutors said.
<figure id="attachment_9853103" class="wp-caption alignright" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; font-family: pt-serif, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; clear: both; float: right; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); width: 200px; background-color: rgb(251, 251, 251);">Modal Trigger
Snowflake ? who was later renamed Charlotte ? made a full recovery after being rescued by a passerby and rushed to an animal hospital.
She has since been adopted and lives in a loving home in Manhattan under the new name Pip, authorities said.
Ivanchenko, 35, faces up to two years behind bars and will be sentenced Oct. 27. She had rejected a pre-trial plea deal of six months in jail and restitution.
Defense attorney Matthew Myers had unsuccessfully argued that there was no proof Ivanchenko hurt the dog and that she merely left the pooch on the side of the road for someone to find. He plans to appeal.
?The defendant showed utter disregard for the well-being of this helpless dog,? said Acting DA Daniel Master Jr. ?Today, justice was secured for Charlotte.?
