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New York Times
10-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Beloved Bloodhound, a Fatal Treat: A Gruesome Murder Mystery in Italy
It was a call that Arcangelo Caressa, a professional dog trainer in southern Italy, had never imagined he'd get. Early one morning last week, one of his staff members went to open the kennel where Mr. Caressa's 6-year-old bloodhound slept at night. The pup, Bruno, was lying on the ground, dead. Grief was quickly compounded by horror when it became clear that there had been foul play: In the kennel near Bruno's body, Mr. Caressa discovered treats and sausages stuffed with nails. Bruno had apparently gorged on the treats, which had been designed to kill him. 'If they had done it to me, I would have suffered less than how much I suffered with the dog, they knew this would affect me deeply,' said Mr. Caressa, who runs the canine training section of Endas, a national volunteer association, and operates a public animal rescue organization in Taranto, a coastal city in the Puglia region. Bruno's killing has prompted a national outpouring of support and grief, even from the highest office in the land. 'Heartbreaking news. A vile, cowardly, unacceptable act,' Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on social media, posting a photograph of her with Bruno. 'Thank you for all you have done, Bruno.' The killing has the trappings of a noir: A beloved victim, nationally recognized for his service. A cunning plot. And a justice-seeking survivor in Mr. Caressa. 'You killed him, making him suffer for hours,' Mr. Caressa wrote in a Facebook post addressing Bruno's killer. The page has since been filled with tributes and pleas to find the perpetrators. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Leader Live
08-07-2025
- Leader Live
Italy outraged at killing of heroic police dog ‘given food laced with nails'
Bruno, a seven-year-old, 88-kilogram (195-pound) bloodhound, was found dead on Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Caressa said he suspected the killing was revenge against him — not Bruno — for his volunteer animal rescue work. 'It was deliberately a horrific act to cause the dog intense suffering, because feeding him bites filled with nails means tearing apart his insides, tearing apart his esophagus and internal organs and causing excruciating pain,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was 'vile, cowardly, unacceptable'. Legislator Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a long-time 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 Italian citizens. Mr 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'. Mr Caressa runs a volunteer public animal rescue organisation, Endas, that among other things rescues dogs from illegal dogfights. He said the service used to be run by for-profit firms and said he suspected that his competitors were behind Bruno's killing. 'In recent months, we have received threats, acts of persecution, defamation and slander from certain individuals who have already been investigated in the past and are known to the judicial authorities, who have been trying in every way to take over this rescue service by despicable means,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. 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 £51,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online. Mr 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. Mr Caressa said that Bruno might have appeared clumsy and overweight, but was powerful, strong and dedicated to his job. 'He was a giant,' said Mr Caressa. 'When he went out on a search and you put his harness on, there was no one else like him. 'He would set off, smell the person we were looking for and run like a train until we found them.' Officially, his record stands at nine people found – five people who were alive and four whose bodies were recovered, he said. 'But the motto for us rescuers is always the same: Bring the missing person home in any case, because there is always someone among their relatives who is looking for that missing person,' he said.
Rhyl Journal
08-07-2025
- Rhyl Journal
Italy outraged at killing of heroic police dog ‘given food laced with nails'
Bruno, a seven-year-old, 88-kilogram (195-pound) bloodhound, was found dead on Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Caressa said he suspected the killing was revenge against him — not Bruno — for his volunteer animal rescue work. 'It was deliberately a horrific act to cause the dog intense suffering, because feeding him bites filled with nails means tearing apart his insides, tearing apart his esophagus and internal organs and causing excruciating pain,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was 'vile, cowardly, unacceptable'. Legislator Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a long-time 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 Italian citizens. Mr 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'. Mr Caressa runs a volunteer public animal rescue organisation, Endas, that among other things rescues dogs from illegal dogfights. He said the service used to be run by for-profit firms and said he suspected that his competitors were behind Bruno's killing. 'In recent months, we have received threats, acts of persecution, defamation and slander from certain individuals who have already been investigated in the past and are known to the judicial authorities, who have been trying in every way to take over this rescue service by despicable means,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. 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 £51,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online. Mr 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. Mr Caressa said that Bruno might have appeared clumsy and overweight, but was powerful, strong and dedicated to his job. 'He was a giant,' said Mr Caressa. 'When he went out on a search and you put his harness on, there was no one else like him. 'He would set off, smell the person we were looking for and run like a train until we found them.' Officially, his record stands at nine people found – five people who were alive and four whose bodies were recovered, he said. 'But the motto for us rescuers is always the same: Bring the missing person home in any case, because there is always someone among their relatives who is looking for that missing person,' he said.
South Wales Guardian
08-07-2025
- South Wales Guardian
Italy outraged at killing of heroic police dog ‘given food laced with nails'
Bruno, a seven-year-old, 88-kilogram (195-pound) bloodhound, was found dead on Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Caressa said he suspected the killing was revenge against him — not Bruno — for his volunteer animal rescue work. 'It was deliberately a horrific act to cause the dog intense suffering, because feeding him bites filled with nails means tearing apart his insides, tearing apart his esophagus and internal organs and causing excruciating pain,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was 'vile, cowardly, unacceptable'. Legislator Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a long-time 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 Italian citizens. Mr 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'. Mr Caressa runs a volunteer public animal rescue organisation, Endas, that among other things rescues dogs from illegal dogfights. He said the service used to be run by for-profit firms and said he suspected that his competitors were behind Bruno's killing. 'In recent months, we have received threats, acts of persecution, defamation and slander from certain individuals who have already been investigated in the past and are known to the judicial authorities, who have been trying in every way to take over this rescue service by despicable means,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. 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 £51,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online. Mr 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. Mr Caressa said that Bruno might have appeared clumsy and overweight, but was powerful, strong and dedicated to his job. 'He was a giant,' said Mr Caressa. 'When he went out on a search and you put his harness on, there was no one else like him. 'He would set off, smell the person we were looking for and run like a train until we found them.' Officially, his record stands at nine people found – five people who were alive and four whose bodies were recovered, he said. 'But the motto for us rescuers is always the same: Bring the missing person home in any case, because there is always someone among their relatives who is looking for that missing person,' he said.
North Wales Chronicle
08-07-2025
- North Wales Chronicle
Italy outraged at killing of heroic police dog ‘given food laced with nails'
Bruno, a seven-year-old, 88-kilogram (195-pound) bloodhound, was found dead on Friday morning in his shed in southern Taranto. His trainer, Arcangelo Caressa, said he had been fed bits of dog food laced with nails. In an interview on Tuesday, Mr Caressa said he suspected the killing was revenge against him — not Bruno — for his volunteer animal rescue work. 'It was deliberately a horrific act to cause the dog intense suffering, because feeding him bites filled with nails means tearing apart his insides, tearing apart his esophagus and internal organs and causing excruciating pain,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was photographed with Bruno after one of his heroic rescues, said that his slaughter was 'vile, cowardly, unacceptable'. Legislator Michael Vittoria Brambilla, a long-time 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 Italian citizens. Mr 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'. Mr Caressa runs a volunteer public animal rescue organisation, Endas, that among other things rescues dogs from illegal dogfights. He said the service used to be run by for-profit firms and said he suspected that his competitors were behind Bruno's killing. 'In recent months, we have received threats, acts of persecution, defamation and slander from certain individuals who have already been investigated in the past and are known to the judicial authorities, who have been trying in every way to take over this rescue service by despicable means,' Mr Caressa told The Associated Press. 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 £51,000) fine, with the stiffest penalties applied if the mistreatment is committed in front of children or is filmed and disseminated online. Mr 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. Mr Caressa said that Bruno might have appeared clumsy and overweight, but was powerful, strong and dedicated to his job. 'He was a giant,' said Mr Caressa. 'When he went out on a search and you put his harness on, there was no one else like him. 'He would set off, smell the person we were looking for and run like a train until we found them.' Officially, his record stands at nine people found – five people who were alive and four whose bodies were recovered, he said. 'But the motto for us rescuers is always the same: Bring the missing person home in any case, because there is always someone among their relatives who is looking for that missing person,' he said.
