California Criminal Defense Blog

If that sounds bizarre, it’s because it is. But that’s exactly what a spokesperson for Kage Games, the creators of “Dog Wars”, a dogfighting Android phone application is claiming. The controversial phone app encourages players to "Raise your dog to beat the best" and allows players to train a virtual pit bull to fight other virtual dogs. “Winners” earn virtual money and a chance to participate in more dogfighting competitions.

Dogfighting is a felony in all 50 states. California penalties include up to three years in prison and a maximum $50,000 fine.

So while animal welfare groups and the head of the Los Angeles Police union are urging Google to permanently pull this app from its phone application marketplace, the creators of the game are claiming that the game is misunderstood. A Kage Games spokesperson had this to say: "We are in fact animal lovers ourselves. This is our groundbreaking way to raise money/awareness to aid REAL dogs in need, execute freedom of expression, and serve as a demonstration to the competing platform that will not allow us as developers to release software without prejudgment."

As of now, the app has been taken down. However, the creator is updating it, leading the public to believe that the company intends to rerelease it in the near future.

We see it every day…people “running in” to do an errand while their dog or cat remains in the car. Often times, we as pet owners (or even bystanders) don’t give it a second thought. Many people leave the windows cracked, some do not. But the fact is that leaving your pet in an unattended car is a crime in California.

Let me backtrack…leaving your pet in an unattended car is not always a crime. If there is no possibility that the animal’s health, safety or well-being will be endangered, then leaving your animal behind is okay. The problem lies in the fact that determining when the animal may be in danger is an issue that different people will see differently. You may believe that your animal is okay by itself for 20 minutes with no food or water in the 75 degree heat. However, an animal control officer, police officer, judge or jury may see things differently.

And the fact is that even mild outside temperatures can cause the temperature inside a car to escalate very quickly. It’s this scenario that actually causes the most problems for these unattended animals and leads to the vast majority of arrests for this offense.

So animal owners, think twice about leaving your pet behind. A conviction for this misdemeanor subjects you to potential jail time and fines. Unless it’s absolutely necessary to bring your pet along for the ride, you might want to consider leaving him/her at home.

In a rather disturbing case, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office announced it convicted a 62-year-old transient male for violating California’s animal abuse laws based on an incident where he was seen having sex with a dog in public under a freeway underpass. This was not the man’s first allegation of animal abuse, as he had previously been reported for mistreating additional animals. Apparently, the defendant had regularly adopted dogs from the South Los Angeles Animal Shelter throughout the years.

This case serves as an example as to just how far California’s animal abuse and neglect laws reach. California routinely prosecutes animal abuse cases that involve physical violence, neglect, sexual abuse, cockfighting/dogfighting, etc…basically any offense that endangers the health, safety and/or well-being of an animal.

And, despite the fact that animal sexual abuse sounds like it involves an unwelcome assault, you can be convicted of sexually abusing / sexually assaulting an animal if you engage in any sexual conduct for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying yourself…even if the animal doesn’t resist (or even if it appears to enjoy the activity).