Police say 21-year-old Justin Aud tossed 3-year-old Pete, a basset hound, off the balcony at the Campus Apartments near Southeastern Illinois College.
"I didn't know what to do. I've never been so mad in my life. It was the most horrific noise I've ever heard. He was just howling as loud as he could for about 20 minutes," says Rob Andres, Pete's owner.
Pete began running around the baseball field this past September. So Andres and his roommate Jake Lane took him in and made him the teams honorary mascot. A reign that just about came to end with Pete's flight over the banister in front of the boys apartment.
"I love him to death. He reminds me of an old dog I used to have. I was in shock and disturbed, confused how anybody could do that to a dog, an animal or anything. It's not right. I was very upset to say the least,"says Jake Lane.
The dog was rushed down to an animal clinic in Paducah where a team of doctors spent 2 1/2 hours Sunday afternoon piecing Pete's leg back together.
"A joint injury is a very bad injury. We put in 2 screws and 4 pins to hold everything in place. The surgery went good. And he's going to be okay. There's going to be some stiffness in the leg for a long time. And he may have to come back in for more surgeries to have some of the screws removed," says Eugene Ceglinski D.V.M. of Ceglinski Animal Clinic.
"With Pete being a short legged dog this could've been much worse. He could've fractured some ribs, punctured a lung, and that could've been fatal for him,' Ceglinski said.
But with his tail wagging, and limping along Pete made his way into the doctor's office for one final checkup before being released to his owners.
"He's got a great group of guys that are going to take good care of him when he gets home," Ceglinski said.
Meanwhile, Justin Aud faces charges of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals, Injuring a Domestic Animal, and Cruelty to Animals. He's got a court date with a judge in his future. If Aud is found guilty of the charges filed against him he could be sentenced from 1 year, to 3 years in prison.
To contact the sheriff's department and prosecutor on this case:
State's Atty. Rod Wolf, David Nelson
10 East Poplar Street
Saline County Courthouse
Harrisburg, Il 62946
618-252-6905
[email protected]
Saline County Sheriff's Office
Sheriff Ed Miller, arresting Deputy Billy Duncan
1 North Main Street
Harrisburg
618-252-8661 Case Updates| Pete was released from the vet on Valentine's Day and ds doing well. | | Update posted on Feb 20, 2005 - 12:07PM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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