VAN NUYS : Gardener Guilty of Dog Sexual Abuse

A gardener pleaded no contest in Van Nuys Municipal Court on Friday to a single count of sexually abusing a customer’s pet--a 100-pound male German shepherd named Bubu.

Commissioner Mitch Block placed the gardener, Arturo Mathias, 47, of Northridge, on three years’ probation and ordered him to undergo psychiatric counseling for two years. Mathias also received a six-month suspended sentence.

“The saga of Bubu has ended,” declared Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek, who prosecuted Mathias for five misdemeanor counts of animal abuse. Four of the counts were dropped in exchange for the plea.

The key prosecution evidence, Cocek said, was a four-minute videotape that recorded a sexual encounter between Mathias and Bubu. Cocek said he was prepared to play the tape for a jury if the case went to trial.

“Most people are either repulsed or very curious,” the prosecutor said. “I don’t know what a jury would have done with it.”

On the video, Cocek said, Mathias can be seen greeting and petting Bubu as he arrives as usual at 9 a.m. on Oct. 24 to work in the garden at a Van Nuys house.

“The dog jumps up on him, wagging his tail,” the prosecutor related.

What followed, Cocek said, “is rather bizarre.

“The dog,” he added, “was definitely enjoying it.”

Bubu’s owner, whom Cocek has declined to identify, became suspicious after both his mother and his roommate reported seeing the gardener with Bubu. After watching an incident himself, he told police, who did not believe him at first.

The pet’s owner made a citizen’s arrest after videotaping an encounter.

After charges were filed, Bubu briefly became a celebrity of sorts--inspiring T-shirts and a song, “The Ballad of Bubu,” which was played briefly on a Los Angeles radio station.