Deaf, blind dog shot to death, beheaded
Stanfordville, NY (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Dec 28, 2008
County: Dutchess
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Stanley Jablonka
A 50-year-old Stanfordville man has been accused of shooting a Great Dane to death and then hacking the dog's head off, according to police and the dog's owner, Tracey Sturgess of Woodstock.
Stanley Jablonka was arrested in the early morning hours Sunday and charged with misdemeanor violation of the New York state Agriculture and Markets Law, according to the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office.
Sturgess said her pet was an all-white albino Harlequin Great Dane named Humphrey. She bought the male dog, which was deaf and blind, in California nearly four years ago at 6 weeks old for $3,500.
He was a gift to her 16-year-old daughter.
"He just needed someone to love and care for him," Sturgess said Monday. "It hurts so much to even talk about this. This dog was my hero."
Deputies said that Jablonka apparently felt that the dog was aggressive when it was barking at his brother "so he took it upon himself to shoot and kill the animal," according to a press release from the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said that the suspect also cut the dog's head off.
"He thereafter decided to decapitate the animal as he believed this was customary and needed if one wishes to have a rabies test done on a dog," the press release says.
Sturgess said she had brought Humphrey to Jablonka's Stissing Street home because her car needed repair. She said Jablonka is an acquaintance of hers and is a mechanic.
Sturgess said she was sleeping at Jablonka's house at the time her dog was killed, which she believes was sometime between 11 p.m. Saturday and midnight Sunday. She said one of the witnesses to the killing woke her up and told her, "Something happened to the dog and it ain't good."
Sturgess said she went to a garage and found blood splattered at the end of a chain that was attached to a wall. She said Humphrey was chained up to protect him and any visitors who might surprise the blind and deaf animal and him to react.
The woman said that witnesses told her the dog was shot while chained up and then "dragged out and his head was hacked off with an ax."
Sturgess said that witnesses told her the dog was shot with "some kind of rifle."
A deputy at the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office could not be reached Monday to confirm the use of an ax or rifle.
Sturgess told people there that she was calling the police. Jablonka, she said, told her she could be shot.
Another person replied, "'It won't be as easy to shoot her because she wouldn't be chained to a wall,'" Sturgess said.
She said there was at least 10 witnesses to the killing, including children, one of whom is 12 years old.
Sturgess said the killing of Humphrey is probably the saddest moment of her life. During an interview, she broke down in tears several times.
Sturgess said she was in the process of writing a children's book, "The Adventures of Humphrey, the Handicapped Canine," to help educate people about those with disabilities. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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