Owner says she didn't mean to hurt dog dragged 2 miles - arrest warrant issued for 74 YO woman

Associated Press ^ | January 10, 2003 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Owner says she didn't mean to hurt dog dragged 2 miles

01/10/2003

Associated Press

TEMPLE, Texas - The owner of dog that was dragged behind a car for two miles to an animal shelter told authorities that she was didn't realize the animal was being hurt.

The animal was euthanized.

Bell County Sheriff Dan Smith said Wednesday that it was the worst case of animal cruelty he had ever seen. The dog "was brutally injured," he said. Sheriff Smith said the dog had a brown extension cord around its neck.

The sheriff said Thursday that the county attorney has decided to prosecute the case. A warrant has been issued for Elizabeth Jane Wood's arrest, and Sheriff Smith said she told him she would turn herself in.

Ms. Wood, 74, of Temple went to the sheriff's office earlier Thursday with a written statement to explain her actions.

She said the dog belonged to her and that it had become so aggressive - killing a kitten at her residence - that she decided to take it to the animal shelter on Sunday.

The dog was too heavy for her to pick up, she said, and resisted when she tried to coax it into her vehicle. She said she then tied the dog to her vehicle and drove slowly to the shelter, about two miles away.

Ms. Wood said when she arrived at the shelter, she discovered the dog had suffered injuries. She said she left the dog in front of the animal shelter and went to ask her daughter to help her find a veterinarian. She said they could not find one Sunday.

Ms. Wood said her original intention was to return to the animal shelter on Monday morning and give officials the American Kennel Club papers she had on the dog to assist them in finding a home for it.

Animal shelter employees found the dog when they reported to work on Monday. After examining the extent of the dog's wounds, animal shelter employees decided to euthanize it.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/011003dntexdog.2c093.html

[MeekOneGOP]

Poor dog. This woman, while probably not meaning harm, did a terrible thing.

If she had just called someone to help her, this would never have happened...

[dtel]

No place but, TEXAS.
(slowly shaking head)

[basil]

Actually, people do bad, stupid things in every state.

[kassie]

You're right. Dumb or careless things happen in every state.

[dtel]

After reading this article about half a dozen times, I think it is frivolous to prosecute this lady.
She was trying to do the right thing, the dog had become aggressive and she was taking it to the shelter.
She certainly chose the wrong way to get the dog there or simply got in too much of a hurry. (couldn't resist)
She is 74 and obviously lives alone, slap her on the wrist if you must, but she doesn't deserve any harsher punishment than that.

[Trust but Verify]

Reminds me of Clark W. Griswold.

[NittanyLion]

If she didn't want the dog all she needed to do was leave her wallet on the car and drive through TN. Why the cruelty?

[Imal]

My thought exactly.

Her punishment should be forced viewing of National Lampoon's Vacation 24x7 for a month.

That way, she not only will never do anything like that again, but she'll know all kinds of driving "dos and don'ts" (mostly "don'ts") and probably have a more warped and interesting sense of humor as a bonus.

[JennysCool]

[chiefqc]

The sheriff said Thursday that the county attorney has decided to prosecute the case.

And the police officer who blew the other dogs head off with a shotgun in front of it's owners is reassigned to office duty.

One was an accident, and the other was done on purpose.

STRANGE HOW JUSTICE WORK, GUESS IT'S WHO YOU KNOW.

[yarddog]

You know, I could never be sure if Clark did that by accident or not.

That trooper was a classic btw.

[Trust but Verify]

If Aunt Edna's dog pi$$ed on my lunch, I'd have taken it for a drag, too.

BTW, we have this movie on DVD, along with Christmas Vacation. Two of the dumbest, yet funniest, movies I've ever seen!

[BlackbirdSST]

If being stupid is going to be criminal, we're gonna have to build a whole bunch of new prison's. Blackbird.

[CheezyD]

If she didn't want the dog all she needed to do was leave her wallet on the car and drive through TN. Why the cruelty?

Great line. Sad, but a great line.

[MeekOneGOP]

I have to feel for her as well. Like I said in my article, all she had to do was ask someone to help her. I'm sure some family member, friend or a neighbor would have been glad to help...

[MeekOneGOP]

Are you serious? That's a real shame. Wow. Unbelievable...

[strela]

The little fella kept up for the first two miles ...

[Redbob]

"No place but, TEXAS."

Prolly not.
Woman's going to be prosecuted.
In Oklahoma, for example, they'd have likely sold tickets and called it a sporting event.