Former dog groomer sentenced after German Shepard's tail is broken

Former dog groomer sentenced

A former dog groomer has been punished for injuring a dog's tail which required it to be amputated, authorities said. That groomer was sentenced to six months in jail followed by probation.

LAKE MARY, Fla. - A former dog groomer has been punished for injuring a dog's tail which required it to be amputated, authorities said.

James Cordell Doughty Suthann was sentenced by a judge to six months in jail, followed by three years of probation.

Suthann was arrested on a felony animal cruelty charge after investigators said he became angry when the 8-year-old German Shepard, named TT, would not sit still while being groomed. Investigators said the incident happened in February of 2019 at a grooming salon in Brevard County, where Suthann was working as a contract employee.

"She is my service dog, but I am kind of her service human now because he took that away from me," explained veteran Rick McGuire

At the time, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said it was one of the worst acts of animal cruelty he had ever seen.

"If you hurt an animal in our county, you're going to jail," Sheriff Ivey said.

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While McGuire said he believes Suthann serve a longer sentence, he said he received some relief.

"It’s a hard thing. You don’t want to see your dog get hurt. You don’t want to see anyone get hurt. Especially an animal. I believe now there is finally some justice."

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