Joanne Oakley
A FORMER TV show contestant has been sentenced to nine months in prison for starving his dog on the Costa Blanca.
Javier Cohen, the ‘Mujeres y Hombres y Viceversa’ contestant from Alicante, pleaded guilty to domestic animal abuse in order to get a reduced sentence as the prosecutor had asked for 18 months in prison.
Cohen was also banned from owning animals for two and a half years at the criminal court in Valencia.
However, although Cohen has a previous conviction for gender violence, he could avoid prison if he completes a re-education programme on animal care.
The young man was caught after taking the three-year-old American bulldog to a shelter and denied being the owner by claiming it had been abandoned.
Allegedly, Cohen had taken a two month holiday to Ibiza, leaving the dog at home and on return found the dog in the deplorable condition.
As the dog was unable to walk due to malnutrition and presented other health problems, it had to be euthanised.
