The slaughter of nine puppies at Kurri Kurri has triggered national outrage and united social media users in condemnation.
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Nathan Thompson, 25, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges of aggravated animal cruelty after he bludgeoned nine puppies to death.
Thompson will return to East Maitland court on April 28 where hundreds of people are expected to rally in support of jail time.
An online petition has also gathered more than 19,000 signatures and asks for the judicial system to mete out the harshest penalty available.
Thompson could face up to five years in prison, but has already been handed down a 10-year ban on animal ownership.
Some Facebook users have even wished violence on Thompson and published his address.
Police have called on the public to leave the matter to the courts.
“That’s why we have courts, to mete out justice and penalties to guilty people,” Central Hunter Inspector Glenn Blain said.
“If we feel the need to put a police car out the front of his house we will do so.”
Rally organiser Callie Redman launched a Facebook page on Friday night.
More than 600 people have responded to the rally invitation.
“There are people who are [Facebook messaging] me from around the world and across Australia,” she said.
“My aim is to have the court punish him properly and not just give him a slap on the wrist.”
Miss Redman is a foster carer with Dog Rescue Newcastle, but her efforts to save dogs are known across the Hunter where she has worked with pounds at Singleton and Muswellbrook to rehome pets.
The Cardiff woman was also part of the Society of Companion Animal Carers, which lobbied unsuccessfully to keep Kurri Kurri pound open four years ago.
Miss Redman said the slaughter of nine bull Arab-cross pups was a product of a bigger problem in the Coalfields area.
“Kurri Kurri and Cessnock are just so bad with backyard breeders,” she said.
“As soon as someone says that there is a dog in Kurri Kurri or Cessnock that needs help you just cringe.”
An online petition, titled Maximum punishment for man who killed puppies at Kurri NSW, has garnered more than 19,000 signatures.
The petition demands that NSW RSPCA, police prosecutor Justin Watson and magistrate Caleb Franklin impose on Thompson the maximum available penalty for killing the pups.
