Dog breeder found guilty of felony animal cruelty charges

Italian greyhound dog breeder George Papania was convicted of two felony animal cruelty charges in Pahrump on Thursday.

He was charged with two counts of willfully and maliciously torturing or unjustifiably maiming, mutilating or killing a dog. Each charge is a category D felony and punishable by up to four years in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Daniel Young.

A district court jury found Papania guilty under tougher provisions enacted after the Nevada Legislature approved Cooney's Law, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2011.

The law was named after a beagle dog mutilated by its owner in Reno in 2010.

Gina Greisen, a Las Vegas animal activist and president of Nevada Voters for Animals, championed the law's passage.

"This is the first jury trial where a jury found someone guilty of felony charges under Cooney's Law that I know of," Greisen said Friday, adding that similar cases have ended in plea deals.

Nye County Animal Control could not be reached for comment Friday.

Papania is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 25.

Contact Lawren Linehan at llinehan@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0391. Find her on Twitter: @lawrenlinehan