A husky was stolen from its owner, tied up so it couldn't escape, and stabbed ten times. Witnesses who heard the dog whining rushed to help — and watched Tony Hughes stab the defenseless animal repeatedly while it lay on the ground. The dog had to be euthanized. It never fought back.

Tony Hughes has now been charged with felony counts of killing a domestic animal, torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, and theft, among other charges. These are serious charges — and they deserve serious consequences.

We are calling on the Porter County Prosecutor to pursue the maximum penalties available under Indiana law for every felony count Tony Hughes faces. This was not a moment of poor judgment. This was a sustained, deliberate act of violence against an animal that was completely unable to defend itself — one that Hughes allegedly stole specifically to carry out.

Indiana law provides meaningful tools to hold animal abusers accountable. We are asking that those tools be used to their fullest extent in this case. Anything less sends the wrong message to the community: that this kind of cruelty carries no real cost.

Sign this petition to urge the Porter County Prosecutor to seek the maximum sentence for Tony Hughes on all felony animal cruelty charges.