Pet dog beaten, dismembered and cooked
Jonesboro, AR (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Jun 8, 2003
County: Craighead

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendants/Suspects:
» Matthew Harden
» Ron Nick Allison

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Police were looking for two men Friday in the gruesome killing of a 5-year-old dog that authorities suspect was grilled and eaten. Capt. Scott Roper of the Jonesboro Police Department would not confirm a police report that indicated a man ate the 50-pound chow, whose paws and other body parts were found simmering on a grill. "How could they be so cruel to an animal that we've had since he was a baby," said June Kemp, whose 20-year-old son, Jared, owned the rust-colored chow named Pooh. "It's been really upsetting to the family."

Jared had attended his grandfather's funeral a day before police detectives informed the family that the dog had been killed. "They had no right to do that to my dog," Jared Kemp said. "I knew the people who did it. [They] were my socalled friends."

The dog was killed Sunday about 10 p.m. at an apartment complex at 500 W. Elm St.

Authorities are looking for Matthew Harden, 18, and Nick Allison, 20, both of Jonesboro, according to a police report. Neither could be reached Friday.

The case has been handed over to the Craighead County prosecuting attorney's office. No charges were filed in the case as of late Friday.

The men grew up in the same neighborhood as Jared Kemp, his mother said, adding that her family feels betrayed. "These two boys used to live on the same block," she said. "I don't know why or how they could do something like this to Jared."

Kemp said her son rushed into her bedroom early Sunday and said Pooh was not in his sleeping pen in the home's back yard.

She said the dog must have been familiar with his takers because it did not bark. "It looked like the dog went willingly," she said. "We just couldn't believe when we found out what had happened to the dog."

According to the police report, Harden beat the dog to death with a shovel before he hung it from a ladder to prepare it for cooking. A piece of nylon rope and piles of fur were found at the base of the ladder, Jonesboro police officer Owen Smith wrote in his report.

Justin Spencer, 26, of Jonesboro told police Harden said after he cooked the dog he ate it. Another witness, Ashley Harden, whose relation to Matthew Harden is unknown, also told police that Harden said, "I ate dog," the report said.

Spencer would not comment Friday about the incident.

The macabre case has stirred the Jonesboro community and shaken animal-welfare proponents in Craighead County, said Richard Wang, abuse investigator for Northeast Arkansas Humane Society. "This is an extraordinary incident of animal abuse that's particularly egregious," Wang said. "I'm really pleased that we haven't lost our capacity for outrage, and [it is] encouraging the people here are responding to it."

Wang, a political science professor at Arkansas State University, said he handles abuse cases each week, but nothing so severe as Pooh's killing. However, he said, "this horrible case is just a step away from what I see all the time."

The Humane Society has not been asked to help with the investigation. "I have no idea what we could contribute," Wang said. "The laws are clear, and those people will be brought to justice."

Arkansas' animal-protection groups say the state's animal cruelty statute - a Class A misdemeanor - is weak.

In the November 2002 election, animal-welfare activists sponsored a proposed act to toughen penalties for certain acts of animal cruelty, but it was rejected by voters.

The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation and Arkansas Poultry Federation opposed the act, fearing it would expose farmers to prosecution for everyday agricultural practices.

In a legislative session earlier this year, a bill introduced by Rep. Buddy Blair, D-Fort Smith, would have toughened penalties for torturing dogs and cats.

The bill, which passed the House but died in a Senate committee, would have made animal cruelty a Class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Under the current law, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

June Kemp said the family still was trying to come to terms with the cruel loss of a beloved pet. "I don't know why or how they could do something like this," she said. Information for this article was contributed by Kenneth Heard and Michael Rowett of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Case Updates

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