The Bronx woman who was accused of abandoning her pit bull to starve to death after she was evicted from her apartment was convicted of animal cruelty today. Cherika Alvarez, 30, was found guilty of leaving behind 18-month-old pup Alize after she was evicted from her apartment in mid-November 2009. The dog was found six weeks later with two razor blades, ketchup packs, sharp pieces of wood and garbage in her stomach. "She left Alizé in that apartment like garbage and she walked away," said Bronx Assistant District Attorney Megan Mellem.
Officers from the ASPCA found the remains of the dog in the Belmont basement apartment in January 2010—Alize's body was so badly decomposed that officials "had to scrape her off the floor," Alvarez testified during the trial. According to doctors, the puppy had no body fat, was found amid a trail of bloody feces and had suffered four to six weeks of "complete starvation."
Alvarez claimed during the trial that she had arranged for a neighbor, whom she didn't know "from a hole in the wall," to pick up the dog, which they apparently never did. The single mother also said she had left water in the bath tub for the dog, but admitted she neglected to check up on the animal. She faces up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine at her Sept. 28 sentencing.
