“Berube told investigators that on July 13, about 4 p.m., he killed Spot by striking him in the head with the claw end of a hammer, and may have hit the dog two or three times.”
http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_170005522.html
Now that on the other hand is gruesome.
And that’s the difference. All the people citing pneumatic hammers are off-base. A pneumatic hammer has far more force than the strongest man, weilding a sledgehammer could muster.
The claw end? I live near Methuen, MA and there are at least six shelters within 20 miles, where he could have surrendered the dog, to be humanely euthanized at no cost.