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Animal abuse is one of the most abhorrent crimes that can be committed by humankind.

Today, animal cruelty is generally classified as a “crime against society,” and can be tried on the same level as a murder case.


Unfortunately, though, this was not always the case.

Back in 1994, Gucci, a 12-week-old chow mix pup in Alabama, was terribly beaten, strung up in a tree, and lit on fire by a group of vicious teenagers. Luckily, Gucci recovered from his injuries.

But only one of the teenagers was sentenced to six months in jail. Taking the horrifying level of abuse into account, the punishment was nowhere near enough.

For more than a decade, Gucci and his rescuer, Professor Doug James, worked to reform the way the law treated animals and their abusers.


They triumphed, and in 2004, Alabama passed the Pet Protection Act, which would deal with animal crimes in a much more stringent way than ever before.

Scroll further to read more about Gucci’s story, and how he changed the way the law saw animal abuse. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Warning: This article contains brief photo evidence of animal abuse, which some readers might find disturbing.