Kyle and Kirsten MacArthur want justice for their 5-year-old Jack Russell terrier, whose bloodied body they discovered after a frantic search on Dec 15 night.
"We think she was shot with a bow and arrow,'' said Kyle, who found Penny's body wrapped in a blue plastic road salt bag inside a garbage can. He said the can was in the back of a neighbor's pick-up truck in Bristol.
MacArthur said he had to return home and wait until police obtained a search warrant for the truck before he was able to get Penny's body and bring her home for burial.
"She was stuffed head-first into the bag. And when I got her home and looked at her I could see a small entry wound and a larger wound on the other side where it looked like the arrow came out," he said.
MacArthur said he had followed the neighbor "who had complained to police in the past about Penny coming onto his property" after he had told the neighbor he was putting up a fence to keep Penny at home and the neighbor had told him, "It's too late."
Hill police confirmed that an investigation of a complaint of animal cruelty is under way, but would release no details.
The drama began Dec 15 afternoon about 3:30. Kirsten MacArthur said that her mother had been babysitting Dillon, 3, and Aidan, 20 months, for her that afternoon and had let Penny out through the recently installed sliding glass doors leading to the deck at the back of their home.
"We used to have French doors, but the boys would open up the door and let Penny out. We thought this would help keep her from getting out,'' she said.
After Kirsten returned home, her mother took Dillon for a walk in the conservation property across the road and returned to tell her that she had heard a dog cry out several times in pain and throught that something might have happened to Penny.
Kirsten MacArthur said that she later followed the neighbor's pickup truck down Route 4 into Boscawen, thinking they might have Penny and were taking her to the Humane Society because she had trespassed on their property.
When the truck turned around and came back home, she called police, who were on their way to her Currier Road home. The neighbor's truck left again. This time, Kyle MacArthur said he followed it up Route 3-A into Bristol. He reported to police that he believed the driver was intoxicated. When the truck was stopped north of the downtown area, MacArthur said he stopped to tell the arresting officer that he had reason to believe his dog was in the vehicle.
Kirsten MacArthur said she's having trouble explaining to her boys why Penny isn't around anymore.
"I tell them she's gone to heaven. But it's hard for them to grasp and they really miss her,'' she said.
She said Penny was friendly with the family's two cats, enjoyed chasing squirrels in the backyard and liked to sleep with Kyle and Kirsten at night, snuggling close to enjoy the warmth.
"I want to see the person who did this punished and made an example of. A five-pound dog isn't a threat to anyone," she said. Case UpdatesA Hill, New Hampshire man will serve three days in jail for shooting a neighbor's dog. In a plea agreement, Michael Donato did not contest animal cruelty charges, was fined $125, must pay the dog owners $500 and got a deferred sentence of 90 days.
He will serve his three-day sentence along with a 10-day sentence for drunken driving. Donato had said the dog was a threat to his chickens. The judge warned that the deferred sentence could be imposed if Donato gets in trouble.
Dog owners Kirsten and Kyle MacArthur said they understood the plea agreement and were satisfied with the conditions, but said they believe the animal cruelty law is too lenient and needs to be revised. | Source: WCSH - April 4, 2007
Update posted on Apr 5, 2007 - 10:21AM |
| Donato was charged with cruelty to animals, a Class A misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Franklin District Court on Jan. 22. | Source: Union Leader - Dec 29, ,2006
Update posted on Dec 29, 2006 - 1:23PM |
Police charged Michael Donato, 52, a neighbor of the MacArthurs, with animal cruelty after their dog, Penny, was found shot to death. Donato had previously complained to police that the dog was chasing his chickens.
The MacArthur family welcomed their new Jack Russell terrier puppy, Max, to their home this week.
The puppy was among a litter of 8-week-old pups owned by Alex and Charity Eddy, of Franklin, N.H. When they heard that the MacArthurs' dog was shot, they gave the family the new puppy. | Source: WMUR - Dec 21, 2006
Update posted on Dec 22, 2006 - 12:58AM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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