There was no "Justice for Dewey" at the Statehouse on Wednesday.
House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly, 212-113, to reject a bill specifically adding drowning to the state law prohibiting cruelty to animals.
Supporters of the measure pointed to the case of Dewey the dachshund, which grabbed headlines after if was found the beloved dog was kidnapped and drowned by two Seacoast women. Activists around the Seacoast continually called for "Justice for Dewey" during criminal proceedings last year.
"This is all about Dewey. This is not about accidental drowning, this is about Dewey and intentional drowning," said Rep. Nancy Johnson, D-Milton. "This is about policy and how we treat domestic animals in New Hampshire."
In May 2004, Erin Wylie of Portsmouth and Shannon Walters of Newmarket stole Dewey from the Eliot, Maine, apartment of Pat Collins, Wylie's boyfriend at the time. Authorities said Wylie and Walters conspired to kidnap the dog and drown it in a bathtub at Wylie's apartment because she was jealous of the attention Collins paid to the dog.
The two women pleaded guilty to counts of cruelty to animals and conspiracy last fall.
Johnson told her colleagues because drowning was not included in state law, along with beating, whipping and torture, the two women nearly escaped serious penalties.
"Our (laws) have a loophole that almost let these two women get away with what they did. It's clear our law was not adequate," Johnson said.
The bill would have made the drowning of an animal a Class B felony charge, punishable by up to seven years in prison. Both women in the Dewey case received a year in jail.
Opponents argued successfully that the bill goes beyond imposing penalties on those who drown domestic animals.
"The problem I have with this bill is it does not exclude gentlemen farmers and people who want to remove pests from their homes," said Rep. Cliff Newton, R-Rochester.
Still, supporters argued in vain the bill would only protect domesticated pets and not apply to wild animals.
"I can't imagine any judge in this day and age who would allow a case to go forward against a farmer from Rochester who did in a woodchuck," said Rep. Marshall "Lee" Quandt, R-Exeter.