Fighting animal cruelty

A pharmacist who beat his schnauzer to death, then stuffed him in the freezer. A drunk who dragged his German shepherd behind his pickup. A teen who tried to drown his Shih Tzu for soiling the carpet.

Animal-cruelty cases that once fell through the cracks are now pursued by the Los Angeles Animal Cruelty Task Force - the first in the nation to team up prosecutors, police and animal-control officers. Dana Batholomew in the Daily News.

Two years old this month, the force has doubled its officers since April. Since its creation, it has bumped up criminal investigations from a handful a year to more than 200 this year alone, most of them felonies.

"We are putting a dent in animal cruelty in the city of Los Angeles," said Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Tony Lomedico, head of daily operations for the task force. "We are putting people in jail."