In 2017, in Wharton, someone discovered two dogs on the side of the road with their throats slit. Barely alive, a good samaritan carried the dogs to an emergency clinic. One survived; the other dog died.

The survivor, Louie, got adopted into a new home where he is learning to trust people again. A scar from ear to ear, however, will remind everyone he meets that he was once an abused dog.

Meanwhile, the perpetrator who killed one dog and physically and mentally scarred Louie hasn’t been caught yet. The good news is if he is caught, the state of Texas has a new animal cruelty law that will better address heinous acts of animal cruelty.

Authored by Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio and sponsored by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, the animal cruelty legislation passed in 2017 increases the punishment for certain types of violent offenses — such as torturing, cruelly killing, poisoning, or causing serious bodily injury to an animal — to a third-degree felony with a penalty of two to 10 years in prison. It also closes loopholes that have allowed animal abusers to avoid prosecution altogether.

“Before this law passed, the maximum penalty for animal cruelty was just two years,” said Laura Donahue, executive director for the Texas Humane Legislative Network, which worked to get this legislation passed. “Until now, an abuser could receive a sentence as little as 180 days for dousing a dog with accelerant and setting it on fire — an all-too-common form of abuse that has been seen in cities like Dallas, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, and others.”

Violence toward animals is not only a heinous crime that should be taken seriously, but a key indicator of potential violence toward people. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) cites several studies on the links between the abuse of animals and violence against people on their website.

HSUS says that researchers also have found that as many as 83 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters reported that their partners abused or killed the family pet. Another study found that 88 percent of families being supervised for child abuse also had incidences of animal abuse.

“The link between animal cruelty and domestic violence is well documented,” Donahue said. “When animals are safe from harm, communities are safer.”

In Texas, the punishment for severe animal cruelty will now better fit the crime. So, if you see someone hurting an animal, report it.

Send your pet questions, tips, and stories to cathy@petpundit.com. You can read her blog, Animals Matter, at http://blog.mysanantonio.com/animals and follow her @cathymrosenthal.