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Female pediatrician gets appallingly light sentence for almost starving her pet dog Betty to death
A Florida pediatrician has avoided jail for abandoning her dog in a dumpster, forced to eat it's own feces to avoid starvation.
Anita Damodaran, 38, pled guilty Thursday, June 12 and was sentenced to just two years of probation. After which, her crimes may be expunged from her record.
In March 2024, Damodaran resided in Chicago. Her landlord at her Lincoln Park apartment had recently evicted her and a team of three had been hired to clean her vacant space.
During the initial prosecution, lawyers told the defense that the cleaners were told to stay out of the plastic bins situated on the doctor's back porch. But one of them noticed a nose peeking out from beneath the trash.
At first they thought it was a stuffed animal, but after some investigation, they realized it was Damodaran's Portuguese water dog, Betty, stuffed away in a dumpster.
Her fur was completely matted and she was only able to breathe thanks to a small hole in the garbage bin. The dog was heavily malnourished and weighed only 19 pounds, half of her healthy weight - but she was still alive.
John Garrido from the Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation told local outlets that Betty was covered in sores and urine burns, and likely survived on her own excrement. They estimated she was there for 30 days.
The cleaners took her to a nearby animal hospital. Garrido Stray Rescue Foundation posted about the incident on social media and said, 'When Betty was brought to Chicago MedVet, her long coat was severely matted and she had to be shaved.
'They immediately began emergency treatment, including a strictly monitored diet to avoid refeeding syndrome.'
After she recovered, Betty was sent to Hinsdale Humane Society where she was paired up with a foster family.
Garrido told local sources that 'She's fully recovered, she's in a new home, she's living the life she deserves.'
Hillsborough County Sheriff's arrested Damodaran in Florida for aggravated cruelty to an animal in December 2024.
In their notice or her detainment they wrote: 'We remain committed to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who commit acts of cruelty are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
'Our dedication extends to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our community, innocent victims who cannot speak for themselves.'
Damodaran first appeared in court at the beginning of 2025. She was ordered to stay away from animals and put on a twelve-hour curfew in Illinois. The judge denied prosecutors' requests for detainment.
After several months of trial, Judge Shelley Sutker-Derner sentenced the pediatrician to two years probation to be served in Tampa, Florida, a $75 fine and mental health and substance abuse treatment.
According to the Rescue Foundation's social media, Dr. Damodaran's defense was 'a litany of mental illnesses' and her two young children.
'We are angry. We are heartbroken. We are disgusted by our failed "justice" system.
