When the Croom family of New Hanover County, NC came home from visiting relatives on Christmas Day, they walked into a nightmare. Their beloved puppy Axel was missing, and after searching everywhere, they learned the horrifying truth: the tiny yellow Lab was dead in the backyard, beaten to a pulp by their daughter's boyfriend.

The alleged reason? The innocent puppy had peed on his shoes.

The postmortem examiner said this was the worst animal beating he had ever seen, and that Axel died from repeated blunt trauma and internal bleeding. The puppy’s liver was like "ground hamburger.”

Suspect Christopher Anthony Simpson was finally charged with animal cruelty last week, and it is crucial that the court treat this case with the severity it deserves -- so that no more animals suffer this violent fate.

Sign this petition urging the New Hanover County district attorney to prosecute Simpson to the fullest extent of the law, and call for a lifetime ban on Simpson ever going near an animal again.