TV show writer punched his poodle to death

A disturbing and sad story has made the news that a TV show writer punched his poodle to death.  Ted Shuttleworth, a former writer for the TV series NYPD, was arrested on Saturday in Queens, NY.  He apparently got upset with his tiny poodle and punched it in the face.

It makes me ill to think he hit a tiny dog like this toy poodle

TV show writer punched his poodle to death

The poor little poodle died from brain trauma.  The dog was only around four pounds and it really makes me ill to think about it.  This is a pretty clear case of vicious animal abuse.  A 230 pound man hitting a four pound dog and killing it sounds to me like the murder of an innocent defenseless poodle.
Maybe the felony provision under NY state law code (section 353-A) should have been enforced.  This is what it states:

A person is guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, he or she intentionally kills or intentionally causes serious physical injury to a companion animal with aggravated cruelty. For purposes of this section, “aggravated cruelty” shall mean conduct which: (i) is intended to cause extreme physical pain; or (ii) is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner.
Above from http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/AGM/26/353-a

The news headlines about the TV show writer who punched his poodle to death is now all over the internet and has many of us poodle and dog owners upset of the incident.  I think Mr Shuttleworth should be given a long rest behind bars and given some time to think about what he did to that poor animal.
What are your thoughts?  Do you have an opinion on this story?  We would like to hear what you have to say.
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