OSAKA -- Police turned over to prosecutors Wednesday their case against a 63-year-old man arrested for allegedly cutting off a puppy's leg in order to scam money for the dog's operation.
Police said the man, whose name was not disclosed, sawed off the right front leg of a 3-month-old female Dalmatian in late November. They added that he bought more than 10 puppies from pet shops from around December 1999 and cut off their legs as well and then tried to solicit donations from passersby claiming the money would go toward the dogs' treatment.
Following his arrest last month, police quoted the man as saying he thought he could obtain money by cutting off the Dalmatian's leg because somebody once gave him 20,000 yen to pay for a vet to treat another dog he had that had a broken leg.
Police said the man took the dogs one at a time to downtown Osaka and put up a sign that read: "Please donate money because my dog was hit by a car." He collected some 1 million yen from passersby, according to investigators.
The man selected dogs without pedigree or with scars and bought them at discount prices ranging from 7,000 yen to 8,000 yen each, police said.
The scam first came to light around May when an animal protection society in the city's Yodogawa Ward reported to police that a man was soliciting money on the street by showing off injured dogs.
The man has allegedly violated the revised Law Concerning the Protection and Control of Animals that went into effect Dec. 1. The revised law contains stricter regulations for protecting animals and harsher penalties for animal abusers, including a maximum one year prison term or fines of up to 1 million yen.