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By Bernie Delinski for TimesDaily.com

Gucci, the dog Florence native Doug James rescued from torture who went on to become the namesake of a state law that makes animal abuse a felony, died Wednesday.

James said he made the difficult decision to euthanize the dog, who recently turned 16.

"I had dreaded it, and put if off for two or three days," said James, who lives in Mobile. "His kidneys were failing him."

In the final days, Gucci reached the point he couldn't control his kidneys and was unable to walk freely. He began losing clumps of fur.

"I finally thought, it's just not dignified for him," James said. "This was too much for him. He didn't deserve to go through this."

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