Landlord charged with animal cruelty.

[Alysser]

WOW, I cannot believe what I just read. I feel so bad for Taz, the family, and even poor Franky. Imagine him seeing his "brother" get beat up like that? I am so glad she didn't get to him to! I hope the family gets back on their feet soon in a new SAFE house.

[Anikaca77]

Poor little Taz. I will pray that he will make it. Poor thing. Just so sad. I hope this women loses her property.

[Catty1]

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14383681

Judge releases Richmond dog-beating suspect
Apartment complex landlord accused of injuring tenant's pet ordered to stay away from property
By Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 02/11/2010 03:10:42 PM PST
Updated: 02/12/2010 06:33:04 AM PST

A Richmond landlord accused of beating her tenant's miniature pinscher with a tree branch left West County Jail on Thursday with orders to return for her next court date and stay away from her rental property.

Sharon Sayler, 65, pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of animal cruelty in connection with a Jan. 28 attack that left the 9-pound dog, Taz, brain damaged. Police arrested Sayler Feb. 1.

Detectives said they did not know why Sayler would club Taz more than 10 times with a cut section of tree branch in the backyard she shared with his owner, other than she told detectives she did not like the dog.

Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Peter Berger ordered Sayler released on her own recognizance Thursday, with orders to return to court next month. He also ordered her to stay away from the four-plex near Richmond City Hall that she shares with the dog's owner and other tenants.

A deputy public defender who represented Sayler said she planned to stay at property she owns in Siskiyou County.

Taz's family left him in the backyard the morning of Jan. 28 with their other dog; Taz was gone when they returned. Police say Sayler admitted to owner Saul Hernandez through her front-door peephole that she "disposed" of the dog, but would not elaborate.

Hernandez followed her to Wildcat Canyon Regional Park the next morning and saw her put on gloves and get a plastic trash bag out of her trunk. When she noticed him, she led him
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on a half-hour chase that ended in the parking lot of Doctor's Medical Center in San Pablo, police said.

Officers opened the trunk there and found the almost-dead dog inside the bag. They say he sat in the cinched bag overnight inside the trunk.

Hernandez and his family exhausted their finances keeping Taz alive, but dozens of checks from concerned community members have poured in to help.

"He still runs into walls," Hernandez said this week. "We're still not sure if he's going to be completely OK. We need to wait a few weeks to see."

Taz has brain damage, but the limits of his cognitive ability and its long-term effects remain unknown.

"We would just like everyone to know how grateful we are for their support," Hernandez said. "People are really nice."