 Dog shot in neighbor dispute
Waxahachie, TX (US)Date: Aug 2002
County: Ellis
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: David E. Hartman
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Testimony was heard April 16th in 40th District Court in the trial of David E. Hartman, 44, who is alleged to have shot his own dog in late August 2002, following a neighbor's complaints.
Prosecutors have alleged that Hartman tortured the dog with a pellet rifle and that the animal was still alive and whimpering when a neighbor found it thrown into her driveway. If convicted in the case, Hartman would face a penalty of up to two years in a state jail and a $10,000 fine.
Testifying on his own behalf, Hartman said the relationship between himself and his neighbor, Debbie Arnold, deteriorated after she misunderstood a remark he made to her, saying that it was neither vulgar nor racist.
He testified he was constantly harassed by Arnold calling the sheriff's office and complaining about his dogs running loose. He said he believed the puppy died instantaneously, with no suffering or pain, testifying that any further movement of the dog would have been "death throes."
"What was your intent in shooting the puppy?" Wilson asked.
"To send a message to Debbie to leave me alone," Hartman answered, saying he carried what he described as a limp puppy to Arnold's property, dropping it over the fence.
He said he then yelled out, "Is this what you really want? Why won't you leave me the f�- alone?"
He said he didn't "pose" or "smile" for any photographs Arnold shot at the scene, but that she caught him with an expression on his face after he called her an obscenity.
Hartman said he considered other actions after finding out the sheriff's office had been called on his loose dogs again, including finding them homes, but that would take "too long."
He said it also was too late to go to a neighbor's to retrieve a handgun to shoot the puppy with, as he had with another dog, Buster. Hartman testified he shot that dog several years ago when Arnold complained about it.
"I begged her to leave Buster alone," said Hartman, who testified he threw the dog's body out at Arnold's gate and yelled at her.
At one point, Wilson had Hartman step down from the witness stand and demonstrate how he held the female puppy down so as to shoot it in the head with the pellet rifle.
"Was the puppy sleeping?" Wilson asked.
"No," Hartman answered.
"Was the puppy squirming while you were holding it down?"
"No."
"Are you telling me that an 8-week-old puppy wasn't squirming when you were holding it down by the neck like that?" Wilson asked.
The shooting was over quick, Hartman testified, saying he chose this particular puppy because it was the first one available � the other puppies were over with the mother, who was on a leash.
"It doesn't matter (which dog)," Hartman said.
"It doesn't matter to you, does it," Wilson said.
"All of my animals matter," Hartman said.
"Was it your intention to torture that dog?" defense attorney Ted Redington asked.
"My God, no, no," Hartman answered.
"What was your sole purpose?" Redington asked.
"To kill the dog and send a strong message to Debbie," Hartman said.
"You thought the puppy was dead?" Redington asked.
"I thought that dog was dead," Hartman answered.
The two neighbors testified of "bad blood" between themselves, accusing each of saying and shouting vulgarities and other obscenities at each other while in close proximity or across each other's yards.
The two residences are around a corner from each other, and about 150 feet apart from front door to front door.
Arnold testified that she was the one who had called the sheriff's department about the dogs running loose the previous day. When her dogs awoke her that night, she said her husband went out first and was yelled at by Hartman.
When she went out, "I saw this little puppy laying in a pool of blood � gasping. It was very alive (and) I still have nightmares," said Arnold, who took photographs of Hartman when he was sent over by the sheriff's deputy to retrieve the animal.
"He was posing for the pictures," she said. "He walked over to me and held the puppy out in his arms. He gave me a big smile and turned and left. I'm scared for my life with that man."
Sheriff's deputy John Steele testified that he answered the call early that morning, arriving at the scene at about 1:40 a.m. He said he talked first to Hartman, who advised him he had shot the dog because he could not afford a fine.
"He was a little upset," Steele said. "He said he picked it up and threw it in her driveway because he was mad at her." Although he did not examine the puppy, Steele testified he saw it and observed blood bubbles coming out of its nose and heard moaning sounds.
"I figured the puppy was fixing to expire at any given minute," said Steele, who testified he should have called out animal control to pick up the animal. "I could have been more thorough."
Under questioning from Redington, Steele said he did not include information about the dog still being alive in his report and that he did not arrest Hartman at the scene.
Both Steele and sheriff's investigator Kevin Ketchum testified, in their opinions, that Hartman's shooting of the puppy with a pellet gun was not a generally accepted practice.
Ketchum said Hartman was arrested Sept. 18 following an investigation into the circumstances. Hartman freely gave a written statement, said Ketchum, who read it in court.
"I went and shot one of my female puppies and dropped it over Debbie's fence," Hartman said in the statement. "I yelled, 'Is this what you really want me to do?'"
A jury will begin deliberations April 21, 2003 in deciding whether or not to convict Hartman. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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