In Middleburg, Florida, police say 25-year-old Cole Daughtry taped his girlfriend's small Dachshund-Chihuahua mix around the feet and muzzle, then strangled her while recording himself with his other hand. Daughtry told investigators he buried the dog afterward in a nearby wooded area. His girlfriend had no idea what happened until she later came across the recording while going through a phone the two of them used together.

Daughtry now faces aggravated animal cruelty charges in Clay County. Advocates who work on domestic violence say cruelty toward a partner's pet is often a warning sign of broader abuse. Whether or not that pattern applies here, a small, defenseless animal was tortured on camera, and a case this clear-cut should not end in a reduced charge or a light sentence.

This petition calls on State Attorney Melissa Nelson and the State Attorney's Office for Florida's Fourth Judicial Circuit to pursue the maximum aggravated animal cruelty charges against Cole Daughtry and to seek the toughest sentence Florida law allows.

Nobody should be able to bind and kill a helpless dog while filming it and expect to walk away with a slap on the wrist. Sign the petition to demand Cole Daughtry faces the full force of the law for what he did to this dog.