Case Details

Dog fatally shot in chest
Holland, MI (US)

Incident Date: Sunday, Nov 20, 2005
County: Ottawa
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available

Abuser/Suspect: Christopher Lane Streur

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 6182
Classification: Shooting
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Animal was offleash or loose
Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior
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On November 20, 2005, a neighbor's reply to a simple question stunned Jim McDonough, who was searching for two dogs that slipped out of his Ottawa County home. "Have you seen my dog?" McDonough asked. "I just shot it," the neighbor replied, according to McDonough and sheriff's deputies. McDonough repeated the query, hoping it was an ill-timed joke.

But the neighbor, Chris Streur, repeated the answer, and McDonough later found his American Kennel Club-registered German shepherd Manni dead of a shot to the chest.

"I couldn't believe it. Who shoots a dog?" McDonough wondered. "This isn't a mangy swamp dog that just crawled out of the woods. It's well-groomed, has a good temperament and has tags.

Police said Streur, who could face felony animal cruelty and malicious destruction of property charges, admitted shooting the dog, saying it was chasing his cats and threatening him.

Ottawa sheriff's Sgt. Bill DeWitt said police are forwarding a report to the county prosecutor's office for review. The property-destruction charge stems from the dog's value, estimated by McDonough at up to $5,000. He paid $1,800, police said.

McDonough and Streur live more than a half a mile apart and did not know each other.

Jill Streur, Chris Streur's wife, said her husband defended their animals and their family. They contend the dog had gripped a kitten in its mouth and then charged at Chris Streur after he fired a shot hoping to scare the dog away. That's when he shot the German shepherd. "He did what he felt was right," Jill Streur said. "We didn't know this dog. We've never seen it before. How do you know what's going to happen? "They think we're monsters, and we're not," she said. "I know how hard it is to lose a pet."

McDonough, who lives on 124th Avenue, acknowledges his dog was on Streur's land, near 128th Avenue and Tyler Street, about 4 p.m. Saturday. The Streurs say they have returned other dogs that have been on their property when the animals didn't act aggressively. McDonough doesn't believe the 10-month-old animal, which ran off with a 1-year-old Beagle, posed a threat and, even if it did, the shooting could have been avoided. The Beagle was not hurt.

Case Updates

An Olive Township man who shot a neighbor's dog will not have a criminal conviction on his record if he pays nearly $1,400 in reimbursement for the animal within 60 days.

Christopher Streur, 38, agreed to the deal Wednesday in Holland District Court as he pleaded no contest to malicious destruction of property.

Police accused Streur of wrongly shooting Manni, a 10-month-old German shepherd, after it strayed onto his property near Tyler Street and 128th Avenue.

Streur has maintained the dog was acting aggressively and coming at him and his children when he shot in self-defense. He fired a warning shot before the fatal shot.

Photos taken of the dead animal, though, show a bullet entry wound in the dog's side.

Holland attorney David Hall, representing Streur, said the photos would have made the case more difficult to win.

"I think this is a reasonable resolution," he said.

The dog owner, Jim McDonough, said he was satisfied with the deal.

"I did not want to see the man serving jail time," he said. "I just want him to know you don't do that to people's dogs."

Holland District Judge Susan Jonas agreed Wednesday to dismiss the conviction if Streur pays $1,378, -- the price McDonough paid for the registered dog -- within 60 days.

Manni and another dog owned by McDonough had slipped out of his 124th Avenue home the day of the shooting.

McDonough, who paid a fine because Manni was not licensed, said the dog did not have an aggressive disposition.

"I truly believe he thought that because it was on his property, that he had a right to shoot him," McDonough said of Streur.
Source: Grand Rapids Press - March 16, 2006
Update posted on Mar 16, 2006 - 12:05PM 
Ottawa County prosecutors will challenge an Olive Township man's claim a neighbor's dog charged him before he shot and killed the animal. Prosecutor Ron Frantz said he believes evidence will show otherwise in the Nov. 19, 2005 killing of the German shepherd on Christopher Streur's property.
A magistrate authorized a warrant December 6, 2005 against Streur, 38, for malicious destruction of property, a one-year misdemeanor.

Frantz said the decision to charge Streur was complicated because the dog, a 10-month-old registered through the American Kennel Club, was not registered with the county. "The law gives greater protection to a licensed dog than an unlicensed dog," he said. The dog, Manni, had slipped out of Jim McDonough's home and was on Streur's property, more than a half-mile away on 124th Avenue, when the shooting occurred. Streur's wife, Jill, has said the dog was chasing their kittens and charged Streur before the shooting.

"This was not a clear-cut case. We have a dog that is wandering more than a half-mile away from home and reportedly had been on that property before," Frantz said. Still, he doesn't believe the shooting was warranted. "The McDonoughs feel strongly their animal looked like a pet. It had a collar and was not a wild dog," he said. He described the killing as "really an unfortunate situation for everybody involved and the neighborhood."

Evidence is expected to show the shot entered the dog's hindquarters and exited near the right-front quarter, possibly discrediting any claim of a frontal attack.
Frantz said he was compelled to also charge McDonough with a misdemeanor for having an unlicensed dog.

If the dog had been licensed, prosecutors likely would have charged Streur with a charge of killing a licensed dog. They chose the property destruction charge because McDonough paid $1,800 for the animal.
Source: MLive News - December 8, 2005
Update posted on Dec 13, 2005 - 9:20PM 

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References

MLive.Com - November 21, 2005

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