The litter of strays was being cared for by the mother in an empty lot in the Tabachines neighborhood in the north of the city.
Last Saturday, a small girl who lived nearby was bitten by the mother as she tried to grab one of the puppies. When her 25-year-old father heard what had occurred, he filled a can with gasoline and hurried over to the lot. He first threw the puppies against a brick wall before dousing them in fuel and setting them alight.
The man’s two daughters witnessed the entire incident.
According to animal welfare activist Patricia Saavedra, neighbors said the mother dog was completely bewildered, and for some time walked around carrying the scorched bodies of her puppies in her mouth. When Zapopan Animal Control officers finally arrived they did not bother to interview the perpetrator, who is referred to only as “Jonathon,” but took the mother dog off to the pen.“Not a single police officer came to talk to this demented man,” Saavedra said.
Animal abuse is not considered a criminal offense in Jalisco, so the horrendous act initially looked as though it might go unpunished. But as news of the incident spread rapidly on social media, Zapopan authorities took note.
In a series of tweets, municipal officials expressed their commitment to upholding city ordinances that give city hall the right to impose fines on people who abuse animals. “We are indignant over this action and it will not go unpunished,” read one of four tweets.
The municipality later issued the abuser with a “notification,” informing him that he could be fined as much as 60,000 pesos for his anti-social behavior.
In the aftermath of the incident, an online petition began to circulate demanding that the Jalisco State Congress make animal abuse a criminal offense. Similar measures have been approved in Mexico City, Puebla and Chihuahua. (To sign the petition, go to www.change.org.)
Jalisco federal legislator and animal welfare activist Merilyn Gomez Pozos said “Jonathon” could still be prosecuted and jailed for the “psychological damage” that he inflicted on his children by making them witness the deaths of the puppies.
Animal welfare groups had pleaded with Zapopan authorities not to sacrifice the mother dog. The Animal Control Center agreed not to euthanize the dog and later handed her over to the Sanando Corazones charity for adoption.
Editor’s note: Photographs of the dead puppies circulated widely on social media and in some Spanish-language journals this week. The Reporter has decided not to publish them.