San Diego

Convicted of animal cruelty for dragging a dog behind her car, a Rancho Penasquitos woman was ordered Thursday to spend 30 days in a work furlough center and to give up her family dog.

Victoria Manriquez, 43, wept upon hearing the sentence handed down by Municipal Judge Lillian Quon, who ordered that the dog be removed from the household as part of Manriquez’s three-year probation.

Manriquez will be free to work during the daytime, but will be locked up at night for the 30-day sentence. She also was fined $1,000 and ordered to repay the county $549 in veterinary fees and expenses.

Quon rejected the suggestion of Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Madruga that Manriquez perform 100 hours of volunteer work at an animal shelter. Quon said working with animals would involve a trust and remarked, “I don’t think this defendant deserves that trust.”

The judge ordered Manriquez not to have any dog or cat in her household for the next three years.

“I regret your family has to suffer because of your conduct,” Quon said.

Manriquez told reporters afterward that the sentence was “rather harsh,” particularly the requirement to give up the pet her family has had for six years.

Manriquez said she will appeal because she wants to prove her innocence.

“I had no intent at anytime to cause any harm to the dog,” she said. “I still feel it was an accident.”

Manriquez was convicted Nov. 25 in a jury trial of animal cruelty and abusive transport of an animal, both misdemeanors. The charges stem from a June 28 incident in which the dog, a 5-year-old Australian shepherd female, was dragged for about half a mile and suffered severely scraped paws. Madruga said the dog has now recovered and has been adopted by a family in Poway.

Manriquez testified she thought the dog was keeping up as she drove slowly, with a leash fastened inside the car. She said she feared the dog might bite her son if it was brought into the car, and wanted to lead it out of the neighborhood. After discovering that the dog was injured, she put it in her car and left it in a cardboard box in Poway.

The judge did not order Manriquez to give up the family’s pet rabbits.