BREWSTER – Two men have been convicted in separate cases of animal abuse following their arrests by the Putnam County SPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division.
Matthew Savinovich, 27, of Norwood, New Jersey, was arrested by the SPCA in October 2021 for the killing of pets belonging to his ex-girlfriend over the course of a year. Following an investigation, he surrendered to officers of the animal protection agency.
SPCA Humane Law Enforcement Chief Ken Ross said Savinovich, a predicate felon with an extensive criminal record, pled guilty to two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and one count of felony attempted burglary.
He faces three to seven years in state prison, Ross said.
In the other case, Caleb Shuk, 19, of the Town of Philipstown, was arrested in May 2021 and charged with killing a bat resting against a rock wall in the Sunken Mines Caves in Putnam Valley.
Ross said Shuk used a large rock to crush the bat several times killing it, all the while yelling expletives about coronavirus and laughing.
He pled guilty to one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty and was sentenced to two years of probation.
“People who abuse and kill animals become desensitized to taking a life,” said Ross. “Studies show that people who kill animals will go on to commit crimes against humans.”
He said the arrests and convictions of the two men show that in Putnam County “animal cruelty is taken seriously.”
