Dog shot to death with pellet gun
Sparta, TN (US)Incident Date: Monday, Jun 29, 2009
County: White
Disposition: Not Charged
Abuser names unreleased
A Sparta family is planning to file charges after they returned home from vacation to find their dog had been killed.
Before leaving, Brent Tevebaugh left his family's poodle, Abi, with dog groomer Lori Clouss.
While Clouss' business is not a licensed kennel, she watches dogs for families, like the Tevebaugh's, when they travel out of town.
When the family returned on Monday, Clouss told the family what she then thought to be true, Abi ran away.
"That's when she told us, Abi, our dog for 10 years, had escaped, run away," Brent Tevebaugh recalled. "That devastated us, but we had hope, she's alive, we'll find her."
It was only later, after Clouss put up posters seeking help finding the missing dog, that her 15-year-old son told her the truth, he'd shot the poodle with a pellet gun.
"This lady's juvenile son apparently shot the dog with a pellet gun and killed the dog," Tevebaugh told News 2. "She came to my place of business and said, 'I have information I need to tell you about your dog.' Her son had shot Abi."
Devastated, Clouss told News 2 she can't apologize to the family enough.
"I told [them] if there's anything I can do, there's nothing I wouldn't do to help them for their loss," she said. "I love animals more than anything."
Clouss said her son told her he didn't mean to kill the dog.
"I hope he's learned a lesson, I hope he has," she said. "I'm very angry with him. I've had a very hard time with him because of this. I don't want to be mean to him. I need counseling myself to help me through this and be a good mother to him still."
Tevebaugh said the family is dealing with the loss the best they can.
"You don't realize how important they are until they're gone," he told News 2. "A dog is a creature that loves you unconditionally."
Tevebaugh said he is pressing charges so the teenager doesn't do something like this or something worse again.
"I'm concerned about the young man that did this," he said. "I want him to get help."
The Tevebaugh's buried Abi in their backyard and are planning a memorial service.
Sparta police said Thursday night charges had yet to be filed. References« TN State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in White County, TN
|
