Dog kicked, back twisted, resulting in death
Old Bridge, NJ (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 31, 1999
County: Middlesex
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Richard Heyler
A man faces animal cruelty charges. During a party at an Old Matawan Road home, a township man twisted the back of and kicked a small dog that had bitten him according to the dog's owners. The pet later died.
Now the man, Richard Heyler, 36, of Marlboro Road, faces four counts of animal cruelty from the Middlesex County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
According to SPCA and the dog's owner, Heyler also threatened to get a shotgun and kill the dog but instead left the party and came back with a knife, threatening to slit the dog's throat.
Heyler was in court in Old Bridge to answer the charges and pleaded not guilty. The case was adjourned until Aug 25.
Outside the courtroom, he said, "I did not kill the dog, I would not kill the dog."
The dead dog was named Snaps. She was a 7-year old mixed-breed terrier that weighed 10 or 21 pounds. For about six years, Snaps was the pet of Mary Ellen Sicola, who also was in court last night.
She and Heyler told two different versions of the incident, which occurred on July 31 at a party at the home of Sicola's next door neighbor, where about 10 people were hanging out for no particular occasion and were drinking alcohol, mostly beer.
Sciola said that after Heyler picked up and twisted Snaps - whose name, she said, did not imply any tendency to bite - he drop kicked it as if punting a football. The dog was then leashed to a tree in another part of the yard, and Heyler went to it and kicked it twice in the side of the head, Sicola said.
This started at about 8:30 p.m., and the dog was dead by about 9:10 p.m., said Sgt John Amabile of the SPCA, the agency responsible for investigating animal abuse.
Heyler reportedly grabbed the dog by the neck and middle of the back and 'twisted it like you would wring out a wet rag," Amabile said.
Heyler last night denied most of Sicola's version of events. He said he wanted to kill Snaps but added, "How that dog wound up dead I don't know."
Heyler said the home where the party was held sits close to Old Matawan Road, and he speculated the dog may have been hit by a car.
He said he only pushed Snaps away with his foot when it tried to bite him. He said that he was bitten once on the left index finger and that it took a minute to get the dog to let go of him. A scab over a small wound was visible last night. Heyler said the bite has mostly healed since the incident two weeks ago.
Because Snaps was not licensed and Sicola had no proof of rabies vaccination, the dog's body was tested for rabies, which involves decapitation and examination of the animal's brain.
Two of the charges are disorderly persons offenses, which carry a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail. The other two are civil complaints, which carry a maximum fine of $250 but also allow the SPCA to recoup any costs incurred in investigating. References- East Brunswick NJ Home News Tribune - Aug 12, 1999
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