A Cosnino man told a sheriff's deputy that he shot his neighbor's dog in order to prove a point to people who let their dogs run around at large. Problem is, the dog wasn't on the man's property, say deputies who investigated the shooting.
Now, the dog is dead and the shooter has been arrested on charges of felony disorderly conduct involving a firearm, felony criminal damage and misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Deputy Jeff Barnett of the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said he received a report of a neighbor dispute involving a firearm at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Oct 18, on the 10000 block of Chestnut Drive in Cosnino, about six miles east of the Flagstaff Mall.
"We were told on the way a neighbor had shot the victim's dog with a shotgun and they were arguing," Barnett said.
By the time Barnett arrived, both parties had gone into their homes.
He made contact with the neighbor, who told him that he shot the dog with a single-shot, 20-gauge shotgun when the dog came onto his property. The dog then ran back to its owner's property. Barnett said the neighbor added that he had prior problems with the dog's owner about the dog entering the suspect's yard.
Barnett added that the suspect told him he didn't have malice or ill will toward the dog, but he was sick of the dog running through his yard.
"He shot the dog to make a point for animal owners to keep their dogs on their property and not let them run loose," Barnett said.
The dog's owner told deputies that he was playing with his dog in the yard. At one point he went inside the home to use the bathroom. He told deputies that while he was in the bathroom, he saw the suspect come across the street, shoot his dog still in the yard and shoot at the house.
Barnett said he could not find any evidence to support the suspect shot at the house. But, he added, there was a large amount of blood on the victim's property where he said the dog was when it was shot.
"We could not find any evidence the dog had been shot on the suspect's property," Barnett said.
The dog did not die at the scene and was taken to the veterinarian, Barnett said.
The dog's owner, Scott Koski, said Tanker, a mixed Akita-breed dog, was his for three years.
"I took him to the vet the following day and he was euthanized," Koski said. "He had hundreds of pellets in his side."
Tanker's lungs were collapsed, and he had a broken rib and pellets lodged in liver. Koski said the vet told him Tanker had a 10 percent chance of survival with surgery.
"I cried like a baby," he said. "He was my friend, you know."
Koski admitted Tanker had gotten out of the yard in the past. But he fixed holes in the fence, and Tanker hadn't gotten out of the yard in six months.
"I'm still shocked," Koski said. "I just can't believe it. It's very hard for me to deal with it."
Michael P. Brock, 57, was booked into the county jail on one count of felony disorderly conduct involving a firearm, felony criminal damage and misdemeanor animal cruelty. Brock has been released from jail.
The case is still under investigation. Once the investigation is complete, it will be forwarded to the Coconino County Attorney's Office for review. Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References | Arizona Daily Sun |
« AZ State Animal Cruelty Map
|
