I agree 100%. Normal, stable people don't just go around threatening to kill the family pets. Note - there is a big difference between pets and "animals". I am surprised that some are confusing the two!
Excellent point.
I live in the area of this incident and I'm going to make an effort to follow it as well as possible. If anyone would like to be kept abreast, please let me know. I am curious about the history of this family. They live in a place about 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh where the people have been hit hard by the steel mill and other industry shutdowns. There are a lot of very down and unhappy people there. This is a sad story about some very sad events. I will try to see what really happened.
The 5:00 p.m. news here ought to have a segment on this. I will post on that news story to anyone who wishes to see it.