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Owner of dog found buried at Oceanfront found guilty of unlawfully disposing of animal

Posted at 3:53 PM, Aug 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-14 15:53:59-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The owner of a dogfound partially buried at the Oceanfront was found guilty of unlawfully disposing of a companion animal.

Michael Whalen, 65, was found not guilty to see emergency medical care for the dog. Whalen will have to pay a $500 fine.

The dog was found on February 10 near 85th Street. A police investigation along with tips from Crime Solvers enabled authorities to identify Whalen as the owner of the dog.

In March, News 3 spoke with Whalen about the decision to end his pet’s life.

“We did everything together. She went everywhere with me. I even took her on a vacation trip one time on my motorcycle,” Whalen said.

He said Allie was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease more than a year ago and a veterinarian offered to euthanize her.

“Allie was not ready. I was not ready. She was still having fun. She wasn’t in ill health. “I got her stable on her medication,” Whalen explained.

That was until late one early February morning when he said Allie started having uncontrollable seizures.

“She was not coming out of this,” Whalen said.

Unable to get to a hospital, Whalen says he took his gun and ended her suffering.

“It was so emotionally disturbing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to go through this in my mind and sometimes I’ll just start crying,” Whalen said.