Man Pleads No Contest To Burying Pups

The man who became the target of worldwide scorn when he buried his rottweiler’s nine puppies alive pleaded no contest to cruelty to animal charges on Wednesday.

Robert Homrighous, 42, of Oakland Park, Fla., faces up to a year in jail under state sentencing guidelines.

But Assistant State Attorney Max Leuchter said he will ask Broward Circuit Judge William Dimitrouleas to exceed guidelines and put Homrighous in prison because of the “cruel, heinous and atrocious nature of the crime.”

“It’s just the crime itself, the puppies are totally dependent on the good will of this guy, who just puts no value on them,” Leuchter said.

On Jan. 15 in front of his chained rottweiler, Sheba, Homrighous stuffed the newborn, mixed-breed puppies in a bag and buried them in the back yard of his home.

Neighbors heard Sheba’s reaction to her puppies’ plight. “She was just moaning and howling according to all the witnesses,” Leuchter said.

Sheba became the story’s heroine when she broke away from her chain and dug up her pups. Three subsequently died. The others, along with Sheba, are up for adoption.

Homrighous was arrested on Jan. 21 and charged with three counts of cruelty to animals, a third-degree felony, and four counts of abandoning animals, a misdemeanor.

His attorney, Guy Seligman, would not discuss why Homrighous decided to enter the plea or what he would ask the judge in terms of sentencing.