Man sentenced to jail for beating that led to dog’s death in Seaside Heights
Nicholas Piccolino. (Image courtesy of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office)
A New York man who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in the death of his ex-girlfriend’s dog at her Jersey Shore home is now headed to jail.
Nicholas Piccolino received a 300-day sentence on Friday and three years of probation.
Authorities say the 34-year-old Staten Island man inflicted serious injuries on Booshu, a 10-year-old bichon-frise, that led to the dog’s death last August. Piccolino was living at the woman’s home in Seaside Heights at the time.
He gave several differing accounts of what happened to Booshu, claiming the dog had a seizure and then that he had accidentally dropped the animal. An investigation determined that during Piccolino’s time alone with the dog, a resident of the house upstairs heard several loud banging sounds and a dog yelping in the kitchen below.
Shortly after, Piccolino notified the dog’s owner that something was wrong with Booshu. The owner found the dog dead on the floor of the bathroom.
Piccolino claimed that Booshu “dirtied” herself in her crate and that while he was cleaning her up, he dropped her. The dog was transported to Red Bank Animal Hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
A necropsy determined the 15-pound dog had suffered rib fractures and bruises and some of her teeth were missing or broken.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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