Patrick the Pit Bull’s Owner Pleads Guilty to Abuse

The former owner of Patrick the pit bull has pleaded guilty to animal abuse charges.

Kisha Curtis, 29, pleaded guilty to a count of 4th degree animal cruelty for  tying Patrick to a railing in her Newark apartment in 2011 for over a week.

Patrick was later found found emaciated at the bottom of a trash chute in the apartment although Curtis is not charged with putting him in the chute.

She rejected a plea deal in 2012 and was denied permission to enter a pre-trial program that could have kept her record clean.

Curtis admitted that she couldn't handle the pit bull puppy so she tied it to the stairwell door of her Newark apartment building reported the Star Ledger. She did not believe her action to be abusive. "What I did was place him in my hallway, but I’ve never brung any danger to him. You know, I didn’t starve him or anything like that," she told the newspaper.

She thought Patrick was still healthy and had meat on him" when she left him behind when she moved to Albany and thought a security guard took him away.

Named Patrick by the the Associated Humane Societies staff that nursed him back to health, Patrick’s plight and recovery sparked a worldwide outpouring of support.

The dog has been living with a foster family.  State Superior Court Judge Joseph Cassini III will decide who will have permanent custody of Patrick. Cassini plans to issue his order at Curtis' Aug. 29 sentencing, according to the prosecutor's office.

The charge Curtis pleaded to carries up to 18 months in prison, but she may not serve time as a first offender.

Chris Swendeman, Ray Rossi and the Associated Press contributed to this story