STATEN ISLAND — A woman who stuffed her 3-month-old puppy into a bag and threw it out of her car window was sentenced Monday to a year behind bars, Acting District Attorney Daniel Master Jr. said.
Alsu Ivanchenko, 35, was also ordered by Judge William Garnett to pay $21,795.34 in restitution to the ASCPA, was banned from owning animals for 15 years and must register on the animal abuse registry for five years.
"Up until the moment Judge Garnett rendered the sentence, the defendant continued to show a lack of remorse for the extreme physical pain and suffering she caused this defenseless dog," Master said in a statement.
"The sentence handed down today justly punishes the defendant for her cruel and sadistic crime, which was carried out against a voiceless victim. Pets are a part of civilized society and, under our laws, are entitled to live free of abuse."
She was arrested in 2014 after she dumped her Maltese Shih Tzu, later named "Charlotte" by rescuers, near the Bay Terrace train station in Staten Island, telling police she did it because she couldn't afford medical care for the puppy's fractured leg.
The 1.1-pound puppy, who Ivanchenko called "Snowflake," was found in a plastic shopping bag with a fractured skull, a broken thigh bone and brain trauma by two women who took her to the ASPCA.
Days after Charlotte was found, Ivanchenko was arrested and told police she had already bought a new dog, Pepper, to replace her, prosecutors said.
"Just give me my misdemeanor so I can get out of here," Ivanchenko told police last year, according to court documents. "It's just a dog. I opened the door and threw it out."
Despite suffering seizures from the brain injuries she received, Charlotte made a recovery and was later adopted and renamed "Pip" by her new owner, Master said.
