POUGHKEEPSIE >> Gizmo, the small dog abused by a man in a Poughkeepsie park last December, will be available for adoption in the next several days, according to the city police department.
Gizmo was placed in the care of the Dutchess County SPCA after its owner, beating suspect Theophilus Burke, relinquished his rights to the dog, police said.
Burke, 37, was videotaped beating the dog in Pulaski Park at 7:56 a.m. Dec. 28, but both the suspect and the dog were gone when officers arrived, police have said.
The dog was recovered in Brooklyn in late January, and Burke surrendered in early February. He was charged with animal cruelty.
Burke relinquished his rights to Gizmo on Wednesday, and the dog then was turned over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Hyde Park, police said.
Gizmo is a 2- to 3-year-old small white dog, possibly a Maltese.
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“Suspect in videotaped beating of dog surrenders to Poughkeepsie police,” Feb. 3, 2015
“Poughkeepsie police searching for NYC man videotaped beating his dog,” Jan. 24, 2015
