The trial of a Massachusetts man accused of abusing a dog so severely that it had to be euthanized is scheduled to get underway.
Jury selection in Radoslaw Czerkawski's trial on animal cruelty charges started Tuesday in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham.
The year-old pit bull mix was found in Quincy in 2013 with fractures, a stab wound, and a split tongue. The starving dog that came to be known as "Puppy Doe" had to be euthanized due to its severe injuries.
Czerkawski has suggested that kids he saw drinking in a park were responsible for the abuse.
Puppy Doe's case, which garnered widespread attention from animal welfare advocates, inspired a 2014 bill that toughened penalties for animal abuse.
His trial was initially set for last July but was delayed by a prosecutor's emergency eye surgery and Czerkawski's own health problems.
Czerkawski, a Polish national, was convicted on an unrelated larceny charge in June 2015 for stealing money from an elderly woman he was caring for in Quincy.
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Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said Janina Stock's family hired Czerkawski as her caregiver partly because they shared Polish heritage and language. Morrissey said he abused her trust by stealing her assets at the end of her life.
