Animal Activist Group Seeks Maximum Penalty in Case of Urbandale Dog Death

A Des Moines group is seeking the maximum punishment possible for an Urbandale man charged with failing to give his dog water during a June heat wave, resulting in the animal's death.

The Des Moines Register reports that Lin Sorenson of the Des Moines-based St. Francis Foundation for Pets presented the petition to Polk County Attorney John Sarcone Wednesday. In a statement to reporters, Sorenson said “a more blatant act of cruel indifference for the basic needs of a dog would be hard to find.”

The newspaper says the animal activist group has collected more than 2,000 signatures demanding that Sarcone seek the maximum possible jail time for Luis Lara-Leyva. The 18-year-old from Urbandale is charged with animal cruelty after his German Shepherd died on June 29.

The serious misdemeanor Lara-Leyva is charged with is punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,875.

He is scheduled to be arraigned next week, the newspaper said.

Lara-Leyva was at the family home in the 3100 block of 67th Street when police arrived. A neighbor had called police concerned about the dog.

. The dog had no water at the time police arrived. The high temperature that day was 93 degrees.

A necropsy of the animal found that the likely cause of death was severe dehydration, said Urbandale police Lt. Rob Johansen.

Police sought a decision on who to charge from the Polk County Attorney's office because Lara-Leyva lives with his mother, Leticia Leyva-Nunez. Leyva-Nunez was not home at the time of the dog's death.

Johansen said the dog was owned by the teen, which likely is why he was charged.