Laika is a pitbull mix who was dragged by her leash down a Framingham street while her owner drove his truck, according to police. Witnesses called 911 after watching her roll and scrape along the pavement. When a bystander blocked the truck to force it to stop, the driver, Christian Ventura, picked up the bleeding dog, threw her in the truck, and tried to drive away, prosecutors say. Witnesses followed him home and alerted police.

Laika suffered severe injuries to her paws, including missing claws and torn paw pads. She needed stitches and surgery at a local animal hospital and is now recovering in the care of Framingham Animal Control.

Ventura was arraigned on animal cruelty and driving-with-a-suspended-license charges. Prosecutors asked the court to hold him on $25,000 bail with no contact with animals. The judge ultimately set bail at $10,000, barred him from having pets, and ordered no contact with witnesses. But a no-pets order isn't enough if the underlying penalties for cruelty stay light enough that a case like this barely register as a deterrent.

We're asking the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office to pursue the maximum sentence available under Massachusetts animal cruelty law when this case goes forward, and to make sure Ventura is barred from owning or living with animals permanently, not just while the case is pending. Laika didn't get a choice. The people who stopped that truck did the right thing, and the law should back them up.

Sign the petition to demand the maximum penalty for Christian Ventura and lasting protection for animals in Framingham.