Posted on 01/12/2006 1:36:42 AM PST by beaversmom
A 20-year-old man was arrested after he admitted that he killed and beheaded a dog in Springtown in northern Parker County.
The dog was a stray dog that had a litter of puppies and that neighbors said befriended children in the neighborhood.
Eleven-year-old Christina DuPree found the dog's body sliced open and the head was left in a front yard.
"They would never feed her so I had to do something so that the puppies wouldn't die," DuPree said of the stray dog she tried to care for.
Police said the way the dog was killed was a serious animal cruelty crime. Also Online
Jim Douglas reports
"The dog was decapitated and the sword was stuck through the skull and the sword was stuck into the ground," said Deputy Bryan Eddlemon, Parker County Sheriff's Department.
Ricky Moore, 20, was the DuPree family's neighbor and was arrested for the dog's killing.
Sheriff's deputies said he left a phone message with the trailer park manager that described the killing.
"He explained that he went back into his residence and discovered the dog on his property and retrieved his sword and explained how he went after the dog at that point," Eddlemon said.
DuPree said the dog only growled when trying to protect her puppies.
"I called that dog 'Momma Dog,'" DuPree said. "I would always pet her."
Animal Control took in six puppies and immediately adopted out three of them.
"We have been trying to capture that dog for about three weeks," said an Animal Control worker. "She wouldn't come to anybody, [but] she would come to the little children around there because she loved children."
Investigators said the suspect said the dog attempted to bite him. Moore is free on bond, but could face up to two years in jail.
Three female puppies of the dog are up for adoption at the Weatherford Shelter that can be reached at (817) 598-4111.
A Texas group says animal abusers can get off without any punishment because of a loophole in the law. According to the group, this loophole is so big that a Parker County man recently arrested for killing a dog could avoid prosecution. Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler says that three puppies are left without a mother after she was decapitated with a sword. “Cut off the head of the dog, body gutted.” The sheriff arrested 20-year old Ricky Moore in conjunction with this act, but Moore may face no consequences.
Randy Turner, a lawyer with the Texas Humane Legislation Network, says, “There’s a real danger of this guy getting off. It’s absurd!” Turner points out that the penal code says a person has the right to kill an animal provided that it is a stray or it was not tortured. He explains, “If a dog died quickly, there’s no torture.” Turner and his group argue that torture is hard to prove.
In four recent Texas cases, the Texas Human Legislation Network says defendants were acquitted for abusing dogs and cats. Sheriff Fowler still says that Moore, if found guilty, will face a stiff penalty.
The three orphaned puppies are up for adoption at the Weatherford Animal Shelter.
No...He looks nothing like a pit bull
Brother, you kill one of mine you get a dirt nap.
That is different Tom. Someone protecting their property it is understandable, but, the act of killinmg an animal should never end in jail time.
Check out '82nd man' in, if I recall, post 26.
"He is not a bad person he was just following bad advise."
Bad advice(proper spelling)?
Go away troll!
While I agree to a point, the Dahmer type scumbags who started with pets might have been killed in prison if they were incarcerated for abusing them rather than waiting until they killed some people.
Anyone sick enough to abuse animals like this are going to move up the food chain. An early shank in prison might be the answer.
Take care,
Tom
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