Gucci: the story of a dog who changed the law & made domestic animal abuse a felony

This is the story of a dog named Gucci and the man who saved him.

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It was 1994 when the act of violence happened. Gucci was just a puppy, and he was owned by a girl who rejected one of the four men who tortured him. The four cruel men decided to teach the girl a lesson, so they strangled Gucci, tied him to a tree and tortured him. The evil men beat him, slapped him, and then doused him with lighter fluid and set him on fire.

Gucci would’ve died if it wasn’t for a neighbor who came to his rescue. Gucci’s hero was a man named Doug James.

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Doug was outside his house when he heard a puppy screaming, crying for help. He then saw the puppy burst into flames. He ran to save the poor pup.

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During that time domestic animal abuse wasn’t a felony in Alabama. The three abusers were punished for animal cruelty and they did hundreds of hours of community service. One adult served time in prison. But they didn’t feel guilty or any remorse for the cruel thing they’ve done.

So for five years, Gucci and James, together with the people who support them, lobbied for a tougher punishment and laws for animal abuse.

And on May of 2000, Alabama lawmakers passed the Gucci Law–making cruelty to animals a Class C felony, a crime punishable with up to 10 years in prison.

A lot of people were inspired by how one dog and one man changed the law in Alabama. One of them was Gorman Bechard of What Were We Thinking Films. He made a documentary of Gucci’s story and other abuse stories, raising awareness of the growing number of animal abuse worldwide.

Watch the trailer of the documentary below.

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And here’s the second trailer of the film.

Gucci lived for a good 16 years with James. They became the best of friends. And after Gucci passed away, a street leading to the Mobile Animal Shelter was renamed to “Gucci Lane”. And there in Gucci Lane, is the Gucci Memorial park.

The screening of the documentary is on November 18th, 2015 at the Capri Theatre, Montgomery, Alabama.

For more information, visit the their website at https://adognamedgucci.com/.

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