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Indy pet owner of dog found frozen and thrown in dumpster gets probation

Posted at 10:40 PM, Mar 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-04 22:41:38-05

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis man who threw his frozen dog in the dumpster was sentenced to 363 days of probation and one day in the Marion County Jail, on Monday.

In late January, Gordon Turentine left his dog outside when arctic-like temperatures swept over the Midwest. Turentine's dog was found frozen to the wooden floor of its dog house in a dumpster by Indianapolis Animal Care Services.

READ | IACS finds dog frozen and thrown in trash by owner |

Turentine took a plea agreement, according to court filings, and is set to report to probation on Thursday at noon.

Friends of Indianapolis Dogs Outside (FIDO), a volunteer-based organization that focuses on improving the well-being of outside dogs, shared their disappointment with the court's decision to social media Monday evening.

"We are very disappointed by the light punishment handed down by our local courts today to the man who made the conscious decision to leave his dog Remy outside on a sub-zero night last January," the FIDO Facebook post started.

"FIDO staff and volunteer found Remy in the dumpster the next morning. Indianapolis Animal Care Services did their job and got an IMPD officer on the scene within minutes. The owner admitted that he left his dog outside to die. The IMPD officer did his job and within a day obtained a warrant for this man's arrest. The media did their job and widely covered this case, sending a message that animal cruelty such as this is worthy of attention and concern. However, our local courts failed Remy today, and by extension, the many other animals who also suffer and die at the hands of humans. Please contact your local and state representatives and tell them that in a humane society where we all aspire to live, people who commit animal cruelty need to be held accountable. We need to do better. For all the Remy's who are still out there."