Man who shot son's dog gets 18-month sentence

Pet lovers sent the presiding judge more than 100 letters.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A man was sentenced to 18 months in jail for shooting his son's puppy because he was angry that the boy's mother wouldn't wake up the 12-year-old for a visit.
"You are an unstable human being," Cleveland Municipal Judge Lauren Moore told Benjamin Lovejoy on Wednesday. "You are a menace to society. You are a menace to your family. You are a menace to all things living."
Assistant City Prosecutor Jaclyn Shultz had asked for a one-year sentence. Judge Moore convicted Lovejoy last month after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, having a weapon while intoxicated, discharging a firearm and aggravated menacing.
Animal advocates posted details about the case on the Internet, and Judge Moore received more than 100 letters from pet lovers, some from as far away as Great Britain.
The shooting
Angry that ex-girlfriend Jennifer Montemarano wouldn't wake their son at 10 p.m. April 4, Lovejoy went across the street to his home and shot the 6-month-old Labrador retriever-chow mix named Emily twice with a 12-gauge shotgun, authorities said.
Lovejoy, 30, then called Montemarano's cell phone and said: "Someone's gonna die tonight -- I just shot the dog."
Police arrested Lovejoy at his home. The boy found his dog on his father's basement floor and wrapped her in a blanket.
The dog was saved by surgery but died earlier this month after being hit by a car.
"Your son will never forgive you," Montemarano told Lovejoy in court.
Defense attorney Joseph Morse blamed an alcohol problem for Lovejoy's actions. Lovejoy apologized for the dog's wounds, but claimed the gun discharged when he dropped it.