Man sodomized his grandmother's dog, police say

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published August 2, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - A 19-year-old Titusville man has been charged with animal cruelty after police said he sodomized his grandmother's Yorkshire terrier.

Nicholas R. Densmore was arrested on Monday and remained in the Pinellas County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of $25,000 bail.

It was unknown what Densmore used to sodomize the dog, but afterward he threw the injured animal in the trash behind his grandparents' home on Dartmouth Avenue North, where it was later found, according to a police report.

The Yorkshire terrier, a female named Duchess, underwent surgery at an animal hospital and was expected to return home late Wednesday or early today, said Claudette Densmore, Densmore's grandmother.

Claudette Densmore said she spoke with her grandson only briefly before he was arrested and he denied hurting the dog. She said he had come to stay with her and her husband about a month ago and was looking for a job. "He's never done anything like this before," she said. "Just kid stuff."

State records show he has previously been arrested seven times, five of them as a juvenile. In August of last year, in his first arrest as an adult, he was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest. He pleaded no contest and received 60 days in jail.

[Last modified August 2, 2007, 02:49:06]