Dog shot to death Wellington, FL (US) Incident Date: Sunday, Feb 6, 2000 County: Palm Beach Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Alleged: John Newsome

Case ID: 3302 Classification: Shooting Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in FL (US) Login to Watch this Case

A man faces an animal cruelty charge after fatally shooting his neighbor's 80-pound dog, claiming self-defense.

Dog owner Amy Teitelbaum said she heard the shots after sending her 10-year old son and some neighborhood kids out to retrieve the Great Pyrenees named Chelsea, who had ecaped from a backyard pool enclosure.

Teitelbaum's neighbor, John Newsome, fired five shots from a .45-caliber pistol, killing the dog as it entered his yard on Feb 6.

"I went over and he had the gun in his hand and he was yelling at me to come get my dog out of his yard," Teitelbaum said.

Through a lawyer, Newsome, who has long been aggravated by the dog's barking and once gathered signatures for a petition to get rid of the dog, said he feared for his safety.

Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy James Theel said he plans to file misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty, culpable negligence and unlawful discharge of a firearm this week.

"We're all pretty upset because our kids were running after this dog," said Teitelbaum's next door neighbor, Linda Coates. "It's pretty scary."

On the day of the shooting, Newsome saw the dog in his driveway, got his gun out of his car and walked down the sidewalk "in an attempt to scare the dog off his property," Theel wrote in his report.

"The dog walked toward the suspect, which cuased the suspect to discharge five ... rounds from his handgun at the dog, killing it," the report said.

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References

Associated Press - Feb 26, 2000

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