Dog hanged in tree
Taunton, MA (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Feb 26, 2002
County: Bristol

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Harry Douglas Pettit

Harry Douglas Pettit confessed to hanging his 6-year old German shepherd mix, Sable, by her leash near his Worcester Street home. Pettit was scheduled to take a lie detector test and that was when he confessed to killing Sable.

David Jardim, Taunton police officer, said "He did this terrible act and he wanted to take whatever's coming to him. He was very apologetic to us. He said he was very sorry."

In 1996 Pettit was struck by a car and suffered a serious brain injury. He had to learn to walk and talk again but he still suffers emotional problems which might have played a role in killing his own dog.

Apparently Pettit had tried to hang his dog once before about 16 months ago.

Petitt originally told police Sable ran away when he was walking her on the afternoon of Feb 26. Later that night he went looking for Sable with his son and found her hanging from a tree.

References

• The Boston Herald - Mar 31, 2002

« MA State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Bristol County, MA

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.