Dog shot twice by neighbor
Citronelle, AL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010
County: Mobile
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Bryan Pearman
The man accused of shooting a neighbor's dog twice wants his side of the story told. He said he turned himself in to authorities to step up and deal with the situation. This is a follow-up to a story FOX10 first reported on Wednesday, January 20, 2010.
As a horse owner, Bryan Pearman said he deeply cares for animals. That's why he thinks the animal cruelty charges brought against him are bogus.
"I wasn't intentionally trying to kill the dog. I wasn't trying to cause any physical harm to the dog. I was doing what was necessary to protect my animals," Pearman said.
Pearman is accused of shooting his neighbor's dog, Bella.
"They were in my front section. The dogs were running the horses back and forth. I did shoot two shots off. The first shot was in the air just to scare them off. It didn't phase them. The second shot, I did shoot the dog," he admitted.
Bella had to have surgery, stitches and a splint.
"I actually do kind of feel bad about it. But if I had the chance to do it, I would do the same thing over again," added Pearman. Pearman is defending his actions, claiming Myra Beaton's dog may harm his animals. "The dogs just come running up here and they run the horses in the back half of our field. There's woods and sometimes the horses can't stop on a dime and they zigzag in the woods. It's just going to take one slip for them to slip and break their legs or run into a tree and I won't have any horses anymore. So it's basically running our horses into wooded areas and causing physical harm to my horses," he said.
He said the problem has been going on for more than a year, and claimed Beaton's animals are a nuisance. "They have a donkey that's been getting out, and right over there it's tore up our fence. It's getting in messing with our horses. Also, we asked her countless, numerous times, we ask her to keep her animals away from our animals and out of my garbage. I come home from work at 8:00 a.m. and there would be garbage strewn everywhere. Cats are asleep on my front porch, on my truck, everywhere," Pearman said.
Beaton said she plans to put a fence up so this doesn't happen again. Pearman thinks that's a good idea.
The neighbors are scheduled to go to court on February 2, 2010, hoping to settle their issues there. References |
