Cruelty to animals out of our control?

I just read an article titled "Women jailed after pet was placed on phone book that was set ablaze" from the Rocky Mountain News. The article said how Tanya Martin, 38, was arrested without incident and is now in jail for fourth degree arson and cruelty to animals which are both felonies. The yorkshire terrier named BoBo was tied down with speaker wire, then placed on a phone book which was set on fire. A neighbor heard the dog yelping and called 911. Bobo is now recovering in Wheat Ridge Animal Hospital.After reading the article I wondered what had the dog done to receive such cruelty? How long is the woman going to be in jail for? Does she need to be in a mental institution? Will she ever get custody of BoBo or will he be put up for adoption? I think that it is good that the law for cruelty to animals has been stiffened, because people who are cruel to animals need a wake up call. This also makes me depressed that people would actually perform these horrible acts of pain on their animals. I don't think that you should be able to take care of someone or something if you are not in your right mind, and you will enflict harm on them. But I supppose that making sure the person is a capable owner would be hard to see and decide. Unfortunatley people in the world today are going to be cruel to their children, animals and their family, but hopefully our laws and punishments will stop some of them.