BOULDER, Colo. –
A man whose girlfriend was accused of binding his dog with packing tape and sticking the animal to the side of a refrigerator earlier this year pleaded guilty to a charge of misdemeanor attempted animal cruelty Thursday.
Bryan Beck, 21, was given a one-year deferred sentence and 50 hours of community service.
As one of the conditions of his sentence, Beck will not be allowed to have contact with his former dog â a shiba inu who has since been adopted by another family â or with his girlfriend, Abby Toll.
Toll, 20, made headlines and enraged animal lovers in April when police, responding to the couple’s Boulder residence on a domestic dispute call, said they found Beck’s dog wrapped in a “tomb of tape” and adhered to the side of the fridge.
Police said Toll bound the animal â which then went by the name Rex â to get back at Beck.
Prosecutors cited Beck with a misdemeanor animal cruelty citation for not immediately rendering assistance to Rex. Police said Beck continued fighting with his girlfriend while the dog remained stuck to the fridge.
Toll was charged with felony animal cruelty, to which she pleaded not guilty last month. Her next court appearance is Oct. 27.
Her attorney wants to move her case out of Boulder County because he says the media attention surrounding the incident has jeopardized her chance for a fair trial here.
Toll, who now lives in Chicago, was a University of Colorado student last spring but is not now enrolled at the school, CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said Thursday.
Both Beck and his attorney, Jason Pink, declined to comment after the hearing Thursday.
Just before sentencing, Pink told Boulder County Judge Diane MacDonald that his client was “as much a victim in this relationship” with Toll, but the judge quickly cut him off.
“Well, you know, the dog was the real victim here,” she said.
She said Beck could have been sentenced to a year in jail and fined $1,000.
Beck spoke briefly in court.
“I understand what I did was negligent â I should have taken responsibility and taken care of the dog,” he said.
MacDonald also ordered him to undergo an anger-management evaluation and pay restitution to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley â an amount that will be determined at a later date.
Two misdemeanor charges of false imprisonment and obstruction of a telephone â stemming from a dispute he had with Toll the night Rex was taped to the fridge â were dismissed.
“He realizes he shouldn’t have left the dog with Ms. Toll,” Pink told the judge.
He said Beck, who no longer lives in Colorado, was already receiving counseling from a therapist and plans to fulfill his community-service requirement at a children’s camp.
Rex was renamed Yoshi by the Denver-area family that adopted him after Beck relinquished ownership of the dog.
Abby … I’ll wait for you!
WolverineSmile
7/16/2009 4:54:38 PM
“Tape-gate” continues.Considering this is Boulder, I’m surprised the guy isn’t wearing a flak jacket for his own protection.
gsegiet@flash.net
7/16/2009 4:55:39 PM
Guilty of dating a psycho.
fannywahoo@yahoo.com
7/16/2009 4:58:42 PM
Wow. I have to say that I love dogs and have one of my own – a german shepard who is probably too big to tape to my refrigerator. Nevertheless the image of Toto taped to the fridge still causes me to chuckle a bit.
But the big thing here is that this guy was charged with felony animal cruelty. I’m sorry but that is just stupid. People have tortured and killed animals and it is still extremely rare that the felony version of the charge is brought against them.
The legal system seems to care more about show and fads that real justice sometimes.
olokun@forethought.net
7/16/2009 5:08:57 PM
From the article, it seems the guy was charged with a misdemeanor, not a felony. I think it’s appropriate in this case. I’m surprised the other charges of false imprisonment and phone obstruction were dropped.
monkeys
7/16/2009 5:42:30 PM
Ok….So this guy’s GIRLFRIEND taped his dog to the refrigerator and he gets charged also???? I don’t get it.
Kev
7/16/2009 5:48:53 PM
I want to know why dude was in a cast; more anger management issues or something totally innocent. Hmmm….
rocknwsc
7/16/2009 6:39:18 PM
OHH! He is guilty! Guilty of being involved with a freekin PSYCHO!
lodgecamp
7/16/2009 7:17:06 PM
Abby..!! Shiba…!!! Please….!!! NOOOooooo..
Stiven
7/16/2009 7:34:33 PM
Oh, Abby . . .
The_Merry_Prankster
7/16/2009 8:16:12 PM
“Toll was charged with felony animal cruelty”
Oh. Toll (the girlfriend) was charged with the felony. This is very confusing.
olokun@forethought.net
7/16/2009 9:05:18 PM
Obstruction of a telephone?!A sure sign that we have too many laws.Was the dog injured or ever in any danger?It wasn’t reported, but it doesn’t sound like it.
obamanation
7/16/2009 10:18:43 PM
Lodgecamp and others-I’m with you on that. I believe the arrest report in which he said he couldn’t interfere because “you don’t know what she’s like” . I think the girl was a total psycho and was the abuser in the relationship and the smiles and woe is me bs she’s putting up in court are a big act. And you know if he had interfered too much-had pushed her out of the way to save the dog-she would have said he had abused her and the cops would have arrested him.
wayward
7/17/2009 6:09:38 AM
obamanation, yes, the dog was injured (although not permanently) and it was very much in danger. You must not have been here when the whole thing first broke.
monkeys
7/17/2009 6:57:55 AM
I totally agree, Wayward.At least the boyfriend is taking responsibility for his part in what happened and is voluntarily getting help for his problems.
Unlike the abusive, psychotic Ms. Toll.She may be physically attractive, but inside, she’s anything but.
daravaleriah@yahoo.com
7/17/2009 8:20:31 AM
If the roles had been reveresed, would Toll be charged with anything?
Would the judge allow Toll’s lawyer to make a statement?
phoenix_rises
7/17/2009 8:41:28 AM
A children’s camp? Sounds like the perfect place for a guy with anger issues to do his community service.
lucylocket
7/17/2009 8:48:37 AM
According to this story, Beck was charged for not acting immediately to rescue his dog from the fridge,and instead continued to fend off the abusive girlriend. Toll is clearly jealous of Beck’s dog, and who knows what she would have done had Beck made an immediate attempt to free him from the fridge.Sadly, the pooch and his master will never be together again!Feminazi judge punished the victims!
Pedicure
7/17/2009 4:06:15 PM
