Springfield man sentenced for abusing dogs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A man who was arrested in connection with a dog fighting case in Springfield has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.

Fifteen live dogs were found along with three dead dogs and the bones of multiple others when police were called to a home on Lilac Lane on Jan. 20.

Salenzio Anderson pleaded guilty to animal abuse and violating probation.

He was sentenced to 3 years for animal abuse to be served at 50 percent. He sentenced to a straight conviction on the violation charge. He will be on mandatory supervised release term for 6 months. Anderson will get credit for 177 days served.

Other charges were dropped as part of a plea.

The following contains details that could be disturbing to read.

Police said when they executed a search warrant on Anderson's house, they found 15 live dogs being kept in cages with no food and water. One pit bull mix had scars all over his face and body that officers said were indicative of past dog fights. It also had fresh, actively bleeding wounds and a large amount of blood covering its snout.

The majority of the dogs had old puncture scars on their faces and bodies. Several had fresh cuts and wounds and blood on their snouts.

Some dogs had broken legs and were unable to put weight on them.

One dog was chained to the corner and had a large chunk of flesh taken from its right cheek. The cheek had been stitched, but the stitching was not done by a veterinarian.

Several dog corpses were found inside a 55 gallon metal barrel. The dogs were partially burned. A dead puppy was also found in the barrel. There were an unknown number of dog bones inside the barrel.

Anderson denied accusations of dog fighting and said he burned the dead dogs because he could not afford to have them cremated.

However, animal control conducted a necropsy which showed there was smoke in the lungs of the dead dogs.

Officers also found a deflated air-up swimming pool in the garage covered in blood. The investigating officer said they knew these were often used as makeshift rings for dog fighting.

Anderson had been on pretrial release for a previous arrest at the time this warrant was executed.

He has previous convictions for possession of a controlled substance, discharge of a firearm, and battery.