#JUSTICEFORCOCO
ADVOCATE FOR SENATE BILL 164
Use the links below to send an email to your legislator to let them know you support stronger sentencing for animal cruelty with Senate Bill 164!
Click this link to find the email address for your legislator
Enter your information in the webpage linked above and copy the appropriate email address
If you are on a desktop with a default email program set, you can click the long email button below. A pre-filled email should pop up, and you simply paste the legislators email address in the "To" field, sign and hit send!
If you are on a phone, the formatting may not translate properly. So, you can either click the link for the long email and manually hit enter each time you see "<BR>" (and then delete the "<BR>" text) to create a new paragraph, or you can click the link for the short email to only do this one time.
If the links aren't working on your device, you can always copy and paste the letter below in an email client of your choice.
SB 164 LETTER
Copy and paste this text and send to your legislators to ask for increased animal cruelty penalties by asking them to support Senate Bill 164.
As one of your constituents, I am writing in strong support of SB 164, which provides needed upgrades to current state law, Ohio revised code 959.131 (C) known as Goddard’s Law, named after the beloved Fox 8 Cleveland’s meteorologist Dick Goddard, who was an advocate and defender of our companion animals his entire life. Mr. Goddard passed away knowing that more protection was needed for our voiceless, helpless, and treasured companion animals.
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Since the passing of Goddard’s Law in 2016, even for the most egregious acts of animal cruelty, the consequence does not fit the crime.
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On June 2, 2021, Phil Savelli dunked a four pound, ten-month-old Yorkshire Terrier named Coco in a sink of water and placed her in the freezer. This horrendous, egregious, despicable act was captured on home security cameras with audio. Coco cried for help for more than an hour. Savelli then removed her from the freezer, and in realizing she was still alive, dunked her again and placed her back in the freezer until dead. Later that evening, Coco’s owner came home to find her beloved Coco soaking wet and dead in her dog bed.
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Under current law, the maximum sentence for Savelli is one year in jail. Due to sentence reform laws, the afore mentioned defendant will spend little to NO time in prison.
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SB 164 would provide a Felony 4 for killing a companion animal, a Felony 5 for acting in concert in the commission of the Felony 4, ban the use of gas chambers to euthanize companion animals, and, most importantly, classify the F4, F5, and a Misdemeanor 1 of animal cruelty as violent offenses. The correlation of animal abuse and horrific acts of violence directed at people is well documented and is considered a causal link. In passing this vital legislation, you will not only provide more protection for our companion animals but for people as well.
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I ask that you vote YES when this extremely important piece of legislation is presented for a vote.