Thursday Pet Spotlight: Man Gets 8 Years in Prison For Killing Family Pit Bull

A lot of people believe we should treat crimes against animals just like crimes against people; if you hurt or kill a pet in a vicious, cruel way, you should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Right now, the justice system doesn't exactly punish animal homicide the same way it punishes human homicide, but an 8-year sentence for a New Mexico man for "extreme cruelty" to a family pit bull is a step in the right direction in terms of extending basic rights to our furry loved ones.

Teddy Sexton, a dude with an already dubious criminal history, pleaded guilty this week to a horrific crime against a pit bull that reportedly bit a child at a party. If you're not interested in reading how the dog died, I'd skip over the next paragraph if I were you.

Sexton apparently tried to cut the dog's throat with a knife, and when that didn't work, decapitated the animal with a chainsaw. Officers were tipped off to this disgusting act after a Children,Youth and Families Department worker was informed that a few children were having nightmares of the incident – even though Sexton and his lawyers claim no children were around when he committed the crime.

I'm no judge or jury, but I hope this guy sits in jail for the entirety of his sentence. No matter how dangerous you think an animal may be, there's simply no reason to take its life in such a brutal and inhumane way. If Teddy Sexton had done this to a human, he'd be shoved into jail for life and highlighted on an episode of Law and Order before his sentence even began.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go watch an hour of cute puppy videos on YouTube to get this story out of my brain.