Dog drowned with cinderblocks
Solvay, NY (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 31, 1999
County: Onondaga
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Stephen Wojcik
A Solvay man says dog was vicious and had tried to attack his infant son several times. Stephen Wojcik is charged with unlawfully killing his pet Akita which was found drowned.
"Maybe I didn't do the right thing, but I really didn't have a choice," said Stephen Wojcik, his eyes welling up with tears as he cradled his 2-month old son.
Wojcik, of 2245 Milton Ave., said he had owned Chook since the dog was a puppy. A fisherman found the dog floating in the water at Three Rivers in Clay, with three cinder blocks attached to its collar.
Initially, people thought the dog was a St. Bernard, but it was an Akita, Wojcik said. The animal apparently had bloated after being drowned. The dog was about 3 years old and weighed nearly 100 pounds.
The case has outraged animal lovers thoughout the area. Several dozen people showed up at Clay Town Court Thursday night when Wojcik appeared to answer the charge of unlawfully killing an animal - misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
They chanted and jeered, surrounding him as he tried to get into the courtroom and scrawling "Dog Killer" on the windows of his truck while he was in court.
"They just don't understand what I had to do, and I really don't want to explain it right now," Wojck said.
Wojcik had the dog for several years, but when it became clear his young son was in danger, he realized he had to get rid of it.
He feared that if he turned the animal over to a shelter, it could be adopted by a family with children who would then be in jeopardy.
Wojcik lost his job last week, and to have the euthanized by a veterinarian would have cost money he didn't have, he said.
"I was scared to death of that dog," Wojik's girfriend, Annie Silverio, said. "It was a one-person dog, which was fine when he was living alone, but when I came along, the dog tried to go after me."
The Akita also tried biting her young son several times, Silerio said.
Wojcik appeared in Clay Town Court Thursday night to answer the charge of unlawfully killing an animal. Because his lawyer was not available Thursday, the case was postponed to Aug 19.
The charge Wojcik faces is a misdemeanor, but a recently enacted change in state law will make it a felony Nov 1, with far more serious penalties. References« NY State Animal Cruelty Map
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