Man fined $500
after pleading no contest
to hitting dog with bat

---

Star-Bulletin staff

A 37-year-old man was fined $500 yesterday after he pleaded no contest to animal cruelty for hitting a dog on the head with an aluminum baseball bat.

Police arrested Kaipo Akaka Nov. 8 in Kapahulu after receiving an anonymous tip that someone had just hit a dog. Police found the dog, a 7-year-old female Husky, alive but unresponsive.

Police called Hawaiian Humane Society officials, but they were unable to save the dog. It was later euthanized.

Cruelty to animals is a misdemeanor.

The Humane Society is pushing lawmakers to create a felony offense of aggravated cruelty. It would apply to acts that are especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity, are committed to intimidate a person or are committed by someone who has been convicted of animal cruelty or neglect.

---

Hawaiian Humane Society