2-pound dog used for deadly place kick. Stunned owner chases suspect down

The Tennessean ^ | 4/7/04 | By CHRISTIAN BOTTORFF

[mylife]

A Priest Lake man killed his neighbor's 2-pound miniature Yorkshire terrier by kicking it into the air like a football, police said, and authorities have charged him with animal cruelty.

Jelani Lewis and Jessica McKenzie say they are outraged at the death of their 17-year-old pet, Gizmo. Lewis said he watched helplessly early yesterday as three men assaulted the dog the way football players kick field goals.

[mylife]

Emotion is a powerful thing

[gopheraj]

Not me.

[Ciexyz]

I hope the creep does time for this.

[Darnright]

>My suspicion is that the little dog attacked a man or his child, who kicked at it to get it to stop trying to bite his shoe... and ended up puncturing it's lungs with a broken rib. <

Oh, for heaven's sake! The dog was SEVENTEEN flippin' years old! Seventeen year old Rottweilers don't attack people, much less geriatric Yorkies.

I seriously doubt the dog even had teeth.

It would be interesting to know if this POS dislikes African Americans, and if so, did he kill the dog trying to get under the owners' skins?

[ApplegateRanch]

Accident I believe, having tripped over & punted a few cats that ran diagonally between my walking feet.

On purpose, however? Never, though you'll won't convince them of it.

I finally began believing they did it on purpose, just to feel properly put-upon. No other reason they would refuse to learn not to weave through moving legs from behind.

[katz]

And they want to use a "new" law which will evaluate his mental condition. We all know his mental condition. Just put him away for a few years!

[delacoert]

"It would be interesting to know if this POS dislikes African Americans, and if so, did he kill the dog trying to get under the owners' skins?"

Exactly. When I saw the pictures the first thing that came to mind was, "Crawford - skinhead... McKenzie/Lewis - African-American... ah, I get it."

[ApplegateRanch]

Justifiable homicide. Hung jury at the worst, here.

[mcg1969]

Abortion and animal cruelty aren't related, so you sound like a nutter.

On the contrary, they are very closely related.

You are on a conservative web site. When was the last time you saw a real pro-vs-anti abortion debate here? You are sniping at your own team, and it's weird and unhelpful.

Only for those that are pro-choice does it appear as sniping. For my pro-life comrades in arms, it is an acknowledgement of our our society's contradictory social mores---that a story like this gets press and the God-knows-how-many abortions performed today do not.

Besides, I disagree that it is unhelpful. It should be disturbing to a pro-choicer that I draw a parallel between animal cruelty and abortion. I'm glad it gets under their skin. That's what a conflicted conscience does to you. It's the ones that would casually dismiss me as a nut without response that are beyond my reach.

[mcg1969]

To be fair, the abortion debate is on the front of my mind today thanks to that Nicholas Kristof's absurd NYTimes commentary. As a result it's a bit easier to provoke me to what you call "sniping" today than other days :)

[HairOfTheDog]

Dear mcg, what you lack in good sense, you more than make up for in endurance.

[ApplegateRanch]

It depends on the dog and the human.

Not all humans are human, any more than all cultures are equal. That is crap libs in college tried to shove down my throat, and it doesn't wash.

It is my right to make value judgments, and telling me otherwise is a value judgment that places the teller's values above mine, a contradiction of his own hypothesis.

I hold the human to a higher standard, since it can supposedly reason and premeditate; and is not dependent on on a devoted owner for its care & protection.

OTOH, IF it isn't my animal; and IF I didn't actually witness it, and act immediately, then let law enforcement handle it.

[mcg1969]

I ain't even started yet :) But then again it's almost bedtime :) G'night. Take care.

[Mr. Mojo]

I'm comparing the eyes of Gizmo to those of Crawford, and I can't help noticing that Gizmo's reveal far more intelligence.

[Freedom2specul8]

Took the words right outta my mouth

[I still care]

This dog was 17 years old, and about the size of, well, just how big can a 2 lb. dog be? That is about 32 oz, the weight of a a qt of milk.

The way today's society is, this guy will get what's coming to him.

[RepoGirl]

135lbs worth of full blooded, pedigreed German Shepherd, working class. The smartest and most lovable animal I have ever known.Perfectly trained to heal, leash or not.Dangerous to any strangers on my property.Lethally dangerous, although not specifically trained to be so. I detest little dogs.I just dont like them. If I had wittnessed this moron drop kicking this dog, I would have sent my dog over to "detain" him.

Yipes, I didn't even know shepherds came that big.

I've got a nearly grown Rottweiler who is quite a tough little character. She's well trained, and as bright as anything. She'll be a therapy dog when she's full grown.

Sweet as anything if you're a friend, but pretty imposing if you're not--especially when she's protecting her 'sister' -- my year-old toddler.

I'd love to see that POS try to drop kick a full grown rottie, or a GSD, or any dog larger than a two-pound Yorkie. Something tells me this creep and his friends wouldn't be so quick to try. There's a special, extra warm level in hell reserved for people like this.

[Wilhelm Tell]

Cruelty to animals is one of the warning signs of serial-killerdom. They graduate to people when animal cruelty doesn't give that thrill anymore.

I suspect that this creature will get some months of jail time and then be released. Maybe he will even get counselling to boost his "self-esteem." In a few years he will be in the news again, probably for killing a child or an elderly person in a wheelchair. Some wretched people are just wired wrong from the beginning -- no conscience. Fear of punishment might keep such a person in line, but nothing will reform him or give him a conscience.

[clee1]

NO doubt about it: Had I seen this 1st hand, Crawford would be a dead man.