Italian 'hero' sniffer dog killed with nail-filled sausages
It has been suggested the killing was carried out as revenge for Bruno's role is dismantling dog fighting rings."Today I died with you," Mr Caressa said in a Facebook post announcing Bruno's death.He said he found the dog - who, he says, he saw as a "brother" - on Friday morning in his kennel at the Endas search and rescue training centre in Taranto, Puglia."You fought your whole life to save humans and now it was a human who did this to you," he added. "You were, you are and you will continue to be my hero."The trainer said Italy's police and prosecutor's office had launched a joint investigation into the killing.Addressing the culprits, Mr Caressa said: "I know who you are, and you will pay for it."He told local media had received death threats in the weeks leading up to Bruno's death. "It wasn't a random gesture. They want me to step aside. But I will never give in. This is a vile attack, done for money and revenge," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Italian MP and animal rights activist Michela Vittoria Brambilla has urged the police to bring those responsible to justice.She suggested Bruno had been targeted by criminals because of his role in seizing dogs used in fighting. A newly strengthened law, spearheaded by Brambilla, can punish anyone who kills an animal using torture by up to four years in prison and a €60,000 (£51,000) fine.Brambilla has called for this law to be applied due to Bruno's "long and painful death" from internal bleeding, brought on by the nail-filled sausages."We owe it to this noble animal," she said in a statement.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Italy outraged at killing of heroic police bloodhound, found dead after eating food laced with nails
The horrific killing of a police bloodhound, who helped find nine people over the course of his sniffer-dog career, has outraged Italians and sparked a criminal investigation to find his killers. Bruno, a 7-year-old bloodhound, was found dead Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said that he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails. In a social media post Tuesday, Caressa urged police to 'find the killers before I do.' Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was 'vile, cowardly, unacceptable.' Lawmaker Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a longtime animal rights activist, filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors under a new law that she helped push through stiffening penalties for anyone who kills or mistreats an animal. The editor of the Il Giornale daily, Vittorio Feltri, voiced outrage, saying Bruno had done more civic good in Italy than most citizens. Caressa said that he had told prosecutors that he suspected that he was the ultimate target of Bruno's killers, and that Bruno was killed "to get to me.' He cited his efforts at rescuing dogs that were being used for illegal dogfights, saying that he had already received threats for his work. He said he had given police investigators the names of two people who he suspected. The new animal protection law, known as the Brambilla law, went into effect on July 1 and calls for up to four years in prison and a 60,000-euro (around a $70,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online. Feltri said that the penalty should be even greater than four years, saying animals must be respected 'especially when they behave heroically' as Bruno had. Caressa said that during his career, Bruno had found five people alive during rescues and had located the bodies of four people who had died, but whose bodies were able to be returned to their loved ones.
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
Italy outraged at killing of heroic police bloodhound, found dead after eating food laced with nails
The horrific killing of a police bloodhound, who helped find nine people over the course of his sniffer-dog career, has outraged Italians and sparked a criminal investigation to find his killers. Bruno, 7, was found dead Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said that he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails. In a social media post Tuesday, Caressa urged police to 'find the killers before I do.' Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was 'vile, cowardly, unacceptable.' Lawmaker Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a longtime animal rights activist, filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors under a new law that she helped push through stiffening penalties for anyone who kills or mistreats an animal. The editor of the Il Giornale daily, Vittorio Feltri, voiced outrage, saying Bruno had done more civic good in Italy than most citizens. Caressa said that he had told prosecutors that he suspected that he was the ultimate target of Bruno's killers, and that Bruno was killed 'to get to me.' He cited his efforts at rescuing dogs that were being used for illegal dogfights, saying that he had already received threats for his work. He said he had given police investigators the names of two people who he suspected. The new animal protection law, known as the Brambilla law, went into effect on July 1 and calls for up to four years in prison and a 60,000-euro (around a $70,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online. Feltri said that the penalty should be even greater than four years, saying animals must be respected 'especially when they behave heroically' as Bruno had. Caressa said that during his career, Bruno had found five people alive during rescues and had located the bodies of four people who had died, but whose bodies were able to be returned to their loved ones.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
How the brutal killing of a sniffer dog has outraged Italy
An Italian sniffer dog has been killed in a brutal attack after eating sausages filled with nails, sparking condemnation from Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Bruno the bloodhound died from internal bleeding after the sausages were thrown deliberately into his kennel in the southern city of Tarananto, according to his trainer. Arcangelo Caressa said the dog would have suffered for hours as he died. Bruno famously tracked down nine people, including missing children and people with Alzheimer's, in his work as a sniffer dog. Ms Meloni shared a photo of herself giving the dog an award and wrote: 'Some news pulls the heart. A vile, cowardly, unacceptable act. Thank you for everything you did, Bruno.' The Italian prosecutor's office and police forces are jointly searching for those responsible, as Bruno's trainer warned the culprit on social media: 'I know who you are and you will pay for it.' His trainer wrote in a statement, announcing his death: 'Today I died with you. 'Unfortunately Bruno was killed, they threw sausages with nails inside. I do not publish photos of this atrocity because you would be shocked. You killed him making him suffer for hours.' Mr Caressa continued: 'You have been rewarded by the highest authority for your work. You fought for your whole life to help human beings and now a human did this to you. 'When a relative of yours needs Bruno, he won't be there. 'I thank the Prosecutor's Office and the police forces who are jointly searching for those responsible for this heinous crime.' Michela Vittoria Brambilla, an Italian politician and animal rights activist, called for the 'maximum penalty' for the culprit under new animal rights laws. She has proposed stricter sentencing for those who kill an animal and prolong their suffering, including four years in prison and a €60,000 fine. Ms Brambilla called for the law to be applied in its totality due to Bruno's 'long and painful death' from internal bleeding via the nail-filled sausages. 'We owe it to this noble animal,' she said in a statement.
