Injured puppy pinned to wall with steak knife Graniteville, SC (US) Incident Date: Sunday, Jan 7, 2001 County: Aiken Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Hailey Eugene Prescott

Case ID: 3968 Classification: Stabbing, Mutilation/Torture Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in SC (US) Login to Watch this Case

Hailey Eugene Prescott, 45, pinned an 8-week old puppy by its neck to a wall in his girlfriend's home. Prescott used a six inch steak knife to pin the puppy to the wall.

Prescott, a Graniteville man who lives with Debra Merritt in the 1000 block of Whaley Pond Road, said he was being merciful in killing the puppy named Bear after his stepfather ran over it in his Chevy truck.

An Aiken County jury convicted Hailey Prescott of ill treatment of animals after 40 minutes of deliberation.

Prescott said he stabbed the dog in Ms Merritt's bedroom and pinned it to the wall so her 25 cats wouldn't eat it.

Prescott was sentenced to four years in prison, with a possibility he could get out in one year. He was also given 12 months of probation by Judge James Williams.

Before he was sentenced, Prescott told the judge, "I didn't have a choice."

Assistant Solicitor Ben Moore told the jury how Prescott stabbed the dog and then wrote words of revenge pointing to Ms Merritt's call to police over a domestic violence incident the day before.

The note Prescott wrote read: "You've done this, now live with it," on the wall and drew an arrow to the hanging dog.

Mr Moore said those words sent a "very clear message."

"What were his emotions when he was writing that stuff on the wall? Was that a passion for euthanasia? Is that mercy, stabbing a dog to a wall so the cat won't eat it?" he asked the jury.

Officers with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office found the dog about 6 p.m. on Jan 7 after they got a call from Ms Merritt, who had found her front door open.

Her house was ransacked and cat litter was scattered about. The police had also found evidence that the dog had been moved from one wall to another.

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References

The Augusta GA Chronicle - Sept 6, 2001

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