JP Pitt Bull Animal Cruelty Case: Owner Charged In Court

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The man who's Pitt Bull mix died after he was left in a pickup truck in JP on a hot August day was arraigned on animal cruelty charges Monday, Sept. 11, after he failed to show up to court in August, the District Attorney's office said.

Travis Gustafson, 31, was arraigned today on animal cruelty and unsafe confinement of a dog for allegedly leaving a male pit bull unattended in his pickup truck in Jamaica Plain on Aug. 1, leading to the dog’s death at Angell Animal Hospital later the same day.

Prosecutors recommended $750 cash bail and Judge James Stanton released him on his own recognizance. He is due again in court on October 27.

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On Aug. 1 around 3 p.m. a landscaper spotted the dog in the truck and called police and had the dog rushed to nearby MSPCA-Angell Animal Hospital, where died.
Typically what you do in a case of heat stroke or heat exhaustion for animals such as a dog is to cool the animal down with water or a cool towel.
"But the temperature of this dog had reached 109 plus," a spokesperson at Angell told the Patch at the time. "At 105 to 106, a dog with that kind of temperature has in almost every case suffered irreparable brain damage."
David Halpin of Angell said that emergency CPR had no impact and the dog, and it died within moments of arrival.

If Gustafson is convicted it would mean he could face up to seven years in prison and fines.
Last year, Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill that allows for people to break into cars where pets are trapped in order to rescue them in certain circumstances.

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