Puppy Killer Gets 9-1/2 Years In Prison

A Dade County circuit judge sentenced puppy killer Alan Laboy to five years in state prison Tuesday morning but lamented that the dog’s death has received more publicity than murders do.

“I wish the community would show the same fervent interest for other cases … (of) child abuse, spouse abuse or abuse of the elderly,” Judge Stan Blake said.

Laboy, 37, will serve a total of 9-1/2 years because another judge sentenced him to 4-1/2 years last year after he had violated his probation by killing the golden Labrador on Aug. 4, 1994.

Using X-rays to show jurors the puppy’s injuries, prosecutor Susan Dannelly told the jury last month that Laboy twice slammed the puppy onto the sidewalk because it had barked and awakened him.

Blake rejected a call for a stiffer sentence, partly because he said a puppy killer should not do more time than Francisco Del Rey, a Miami teenager who killed three people with his speeding Corvette.