Anchorage Daily News

A South Anchorage man pleaded no contest to animal cruelty charges Thursday and was sentenced to 10 days in jail for setting an animal trap on his front porch that ensnared a neighbor's dog. Christian Kasprzyk, 41, was also fined $500 for killing the 4-year-old Rottweiler named Grizzly in November.

"It was a very, very painful death for this family pet," said municipal prosecutor Jo-Ann Chung.

Kasprzyk also read a letter of apology to the dog's owners, Tony and Natalie Lazenby.

Kasprzyk told police that he didn't mean to leave the trap on his front porch without the safety on, Chung said. He had been practicing earlier with the device and had forgotten it on the porch of his house, which is located in a residential neighborhood near the Old Seward Highway and Dimond Boulevard.

The dog may have been lured to his home by a nearby plastic grocery bag with remnants of meat.

Kasprzyk must report to jail on July 8.

"Trapping in Anchorage can lead to devastating consequences," Chung said.

She said any family pet or even a toddler could happen upon a trap and be seriously hurt.

Grizzly had been playing in the Lazenby's front yard the day before Thanksgiving when the dogs wandered off. Grizzly ran back minutes later, shrieking and thrashing wildly, his head locked in a Victor Conibear 220 coil trap, designed for small game like coyotes.

He died several hours later.

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