Two puppies shot to death
Lebanon, TN (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Dec 28, 2008
County: Wilson
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
As Jim and Nancy Rue stand mourning over the grave of their two dead puppies, they are questioning how anyone in their Lebanon neighborhood could be so heartless as to shoot their dogs.
"It's just cold-blooded murder," said Jim. "If you can do that, if you can shoot an 11-month-old or 12-month-old puppy, if you can do that, then you've got a very serious problem."
On the morning of Dec. 28, Captain and Sully were in the Rues' back yard, playing by the lake. They became adventurous and ran up the hill through the woods to a nearby neighbor's home.
Jim said before he could get out of his Crocs and into his tennis shoes, he heard gunshots. Later, he found both of his Labrador puppies shot to death.
The Rues' neighbor Susan Jackson said she's thinking twice now about what could have happened to her dog.
The Rues said they want to turn a negative into a positive. They said they believe the law in Wilson County is unclear and said hopefully by chiming in and getting stricter animal laws, they can shed some light on insensitive pet people while providing some healing water for themselves.
"(We want to) make people aware of what they can and cannot do and what they should do if animals come on their property," said Nancy.
The Rues have filed a report with the sheriff's department.
In a phone interview Thursday, Sheriff Terry Ashe said his office has done an extensive investigation, and, because there were no witnesses, they can't charge anyone.
Ashe said that under Tennessee law, Labradors are considered hunting dogs and are protected under statues. References« TN State Animal Cruelty Map
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