Dog shot with pellet gun
Seminole, FL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2006
County: Pinellas
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Jim Watson
A Seminole County man will have to go to trial for shooting a dog with a pellet gun. He said he was just protecting himself and his own dog.
Jim Watson, 74, said he was scared when a large Labrador charged him in his own yard. Watson said he was also afraid for his Chihuahua.
Jim Watson loves his view of Prairie Lake, but with a newly installed knee he's not much on getting around. The combination of a pellet gun and his sitting chair have landed Jim in hot water now.
"Came up on the lawn running, charging, aggressive type and I had this pistol, a BB pistol, and I shot it," Watson said. "I couldn't get up with my bad knees."
Watson said he's too disabled to even take care of the Chihuahua that was tied to a tree at the time.
He said the pellet shot was protection, but the Seminole County State Attorney's Office seems to see it differently. In two weeks Watson will face a jury trial on animal cruelty charges.
"I think it's ridiculous. My attorney, everybody I talk to thinks it's ridiculous. Except that prosecutor," said Watson.
The dog is apparently doing fine.
"He was running towards me and that's all I know," Watson added. "And I couldn't take a chance that he got to me."
In two weeks a jury is scheduled to be chosen to decide if Watson is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable only by up to a $5,000 fine. References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
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