Washington justices: Animal abuse can be domestic violence

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously confirmed that animal abuse can constitute domestic violence. The court issued its ruling Thursday in the case of Charmarke Abdi-Issa, who was convicted of animal abuse with a domestic violence designation for savagely beating his girlfriend’s dog to death in a Seattle parking lot in 2018. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison — 12 for animal abuse and six more because the attack traumatized a woman who witnessed it. The justices unanimously held that the purpose of the domestic violence designation is to enforce existing criminal statutes in a way that ensures victims are protected.