Case Details

Dogs attacked with hatchet and pick-axe
Lehigh Acres, FL (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Oct 14, 2003
County: Lee
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Robert Jay Renz

Case ID: 1790
Classification: Mutilation/Torture
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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A Lehigh Acres man is accused of attacking two neighborhood dogs with a hatchet and a pickax, killing one and injuring the other so severely that it was later euthanized by a veterinarian, authorities said.

Robert Jay Renz, 27, of 4110 Second St. S.W. was arrested and charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty, according to Lee County sheriff�s reports. He was being held at Lee County Jail without bail, pending a court appearance today.

Deputies responded to Renz�s home on Thursday and Monday, both in reference to Renz attempting to commit suicide, authorities said.

When deputies arrived Monday, they found blood on Renz�s hands and arms and found a pickax and hatchet, which had hair on it matching the color of the dead dog, according to sheriff�s reports. Renz told deputies he tried to �commit suicide last week by driving his car into a canal, but failed,� the arrest report stated.

Renz was taken to an area medical facility for treatment before he was booked into the jail, said Lee County sheriff�s spokesman Larry King.

The two dogs � a female pit bull mix named Eddie and a male Labrador mix named Chronic � belonged to Frances Christopher of 4106 Third St. S.W. and her family.

Christopher�s son, Delaino Thompson, 18, discovered the dogs in the back yard Monday morning. Eddie was lying motionless behind a tree, while Chronic was lying still in the grass a few yards away. Both animals were tied to cable chains about 200 feet from Renz�s residence.

�There was blood on (Eddie�s) face,� said Thompson, who said he had never met Renz. �I couldn�t bear to see it.�

Thompson said Chronic was bloated and had a cut on his stomach and an indent mark on his shoulder. The injured dog was taken to Animal Medical Center of Lehigh Acres for treatment. Veterinarian Charles Whitford said he gave the dog a blood transfusion using synthetic blood, but the injuries � including broken ribs, a broken leg, a bone fracture on top of the mouth and extensive internal trauma � were too serious to save the dog�s life.

Chronic was euthanized after about 3� hours of treatment, Whitford said.

�I�ve never seen anything this bad that was intentionally done (to a dog),� said Whitford, who has been a veterinarian since 1995.

Renz first told deputies he was attacked by a pit bull mix and defended himself with the hatchet, the arrest report stated.

�We haven�t found anything that would suggest the dogs were a danger to others,� King said.

Christopher�s daughter, Marsha Clinton, 30, said the family owned the two dogs for about four years. Her daughter, Sabrya, 3, and son, Nadan, 4, used to play with them.

Clinton said she hopes Renz gets the help he needs.

�I know (Renz) has had some problems,� Clinton said. �But if he can do this to dogs, who�s to say he can�t do it to a human being?�

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