Horatio's Law: a domestic violence law for pets | wtsp.com

New Port Richey, Florida - There's nothing like the loyalty and love you receive from a dog. They are called man's best friend for a reason.

Pets seem to make your days brighter, your nights calmer and your life happier. Pet owners will tell you that animals add so much to your life.? They become members of your family.

That's why it's hard to believe that someone would ever hurt a defenseless animal. Sadly, we hear about?it all the time.

One case that seemed to?shock people in the Bay area is the story of Horatio, an 8-year-old gentle Catahoula who was beaten so badly, his head now bears a permanent indentation. He?also?has such severe nerve damage to his head, he can no longer go out into the sunlight without wearing goggles.?? His tiny skull was crushed over and over again.

Kathy Cornwell, Horatio's current owner, says, "He cannot see at all when that sun is in his eyes, and he squints."

Photo Gallery: Pictures of Horatio

Cornwell?says she?was shocked when she heard his story.? She wanted?to give him a home and a new life. Thanks to Cornwell,?Horatio is?a survivor, a pup who's living a better life.?With the wag of his tail, you'd never know just how bad it was.

Now, he is the happiest dog ever.? He even hangs out with Cornwell at the local Starbucks on Friday nights and has become a bit of a celebrity.

"Everyone loves him," says Cornwell.? "He loves for people to pet him.? He just loves people and other animals.? He's a good boy."

And loyal almost to the death.

A woman who worked as a victim's advocate is a good friend of Cornwell's.?Jan Occhiolini said, "We later found out that little Horatio laid over his owner and took blows by her son and protected this woman from the blows of the son."

Horatio nearly died trying to protect his previous owner.?

But what about other domestic cases where animals are used, like Horatio, almost as a pawn in a violent relationship? It seems?that sometimes a?pet is abused to hurt someone else and manipulate them.

State Senator Mike Fasano wants to put a stop to it.? "What's going on in the mind of a human being that does that to a dog?" he asked.

Senator?Fasano is a dog lover himself.??He adopted his 4-year-old dog, Callie, several years ago and is clearly in love.? "I love to see her playing in the yard. She's great."

Fasano?has filed a bill called, "Horatio's Law," the first of its kind, where the abuse of an animal would be included in Florida's domestic violence law.

Fasano told 10 News, "History tells us the victim is the animal as well. Abusers go after the animal as well and the woman is afraid to leave the animal behind."

The Senator says is hoping for success with?"Horatio's Law," also known as Senate Bill 288. The law, if passed,?would also provide, in essence, restraining orders, for pets.

It is a way to not only protect people, Fasano tells us, but their animals, like Horatio who's living proof that the loyalty of man's best friend can never be destroyed.

Sources say that the man who did this to Horatio is currently in jail.

Meanwhile, Horatio's previous owner, an elderly Bay area woman, passed away in December.? Cornwell says she often sent pictures to the woman who was residing in a nursing home.

Cornwell says, "It made her happy to see that Horatio ended up in a good home.? She'd point to the picture and proudly tell her friends, 'That's my dog.'? She loved him."

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Source: http://www.wtsp.com/rss/article/231960/8/Domestic-violence-law-for-pets-It-could-happen

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