TOWN 'N' COUNTRY, Fla. — A woman who beat a dog with a rubber mallet in 2023 has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison plus probation for her crimes.
Elizabeth Jaimes received her sentence Friday, more than a year after being arrested for animal cruelty.
In May 2023, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies said they were given surveillance footage of Elizabeth Jaimes, 24, hitting a 9-year-old Siberian husky with a rubber mallet on the head and torso while holding her on a leash.
Jaimes was living in the house with her boyfriend and his mother, the dog's owner. She said she started to notice injuries on the dog, named Maya, around August, which was the same time Jaimes moved in.
Maya's owner put up a hidden camera to monitor what she thought was happening to the dog. The cameras then showed the abuse. HCSO said that Jaimes admitted to hitting the dog because he growled at her.
Maya was taken to the Veterinary Emergency Group, which confirmed that he had sustained multiple blunt-force head and back injuries, including spine and rib fractures, and was blind in one eye.
Maya was reunited with its owner and recovered.
Jaimes will spend a total of 70 months in prison and then three years on probation for her crimes.
