A Florida woman was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Friday after she was caught on camera abusing a Husky.
Elizabeth Jaimes admitted to beating the dog with a rubber mallet. She was recorded on a hidden camera beating Kimberly Johns' husky, named Maya.
Prosecutors said Jaimes moved into a home in Tampa with her boyfriend, his mom and his mom's dog in August 2022. Prosecutors and Johns urged the judge to come down hard on Jaimes for abusing the dog, according to Fox 13.
"What she did to Maya for 151 days, my dog lived in fear," Johns said during the sentencing hearing. "It's a living thing and she just abused her and abused her, over and over."
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Maya was a healthy dog when Jaimes moved in, but before long afterward, Johns began to notice cuts on the dog's head and took her to the veterinarian, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
About a month later, Maya was taken back to the veterinarian for a twisted toenail. A month after that, the dog needed six staples in her head. A few days later, Maya again returned to the veterinarian because she was struggling to walk.
The veterinarian, suspecting some type of abuse, recommended that Johns set up a camera to capture what was happening to Maya.
"Not counting the ongoing abuse starting from August of 2020, the defendant struck Maya 38 times with a mallet and 26 additional strikes," prosecutor Karry Becker told the judge.
The veterinarian who treated Maya said the husky had suffered fractured ribs and spinal injuries and that it appeared some of the dog's bones had been broken and re-broken after healing, suggesting abuse likely happened before it was captured on camera.
Maya is now alright, but she is taken to the veterinarian for ongoing treatment for her extensive injuries.
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"I think it's a miracle that Maya's alive," Dr. Jerika Brooks, Lead Shelter Veterinarian for the Pet Resources Center, said during the hearing.
Jaimes requested leniency, claiming she has post-traumatic stress disorder after previously being abused herself. She also said she does not remember the abuse of Maya that was captured on camera.
"I don't remember what I did that day, and I've been going to therapy because I've never done anything like that. I've never put my hands on anybody, but that doesn't excuse it. So I just wanted to apologize," Jaimes said.
Prosecutors and Johns do not believe Jaimes felt remorse for beating Maya.
"One of us wouldn't get away with it with a human, and she shouldn't get away with it with an animal," Johns said.
"I've been a prosecutor for almost 20 years, and I personally have never had a case that's been this egregious," Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez said. "The crime was appalling. It was shocking. And, of course, the fact that it was captured on video made it even worse. So the judge was able to see what it is that Miss Jaimes did to Maya. In Hillsborough County, animal cruelty will not be tolerated."
