Posted on 06/21/2009 8:40:10 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Dale Sweat of West Jordan claims a stranger walked into his yard, picked up a bat, pushed his granddaughter out of the way and repeatedly beat his dog.
West Jordan police say the case remains under investigation and officers are working with conflicting statements from the teen accused of the beating and the dog's owner.
Dale Sweat said he was trimming the hedges alongside his home near 9000 South and Lisa Avenue (2560 West) earlier this month while his granddaughter, Kayla, rode her bike on the street outside her home near their front yard as her 8-year-old yellow Labrador, Nikki, ran alongside.
A teenage boy came walking through the neighborhood, handing out fliers for a window and door service. Sweat said the dog barked at the boy, who responded by telling Sweat's 12-year-old granddaughter to control her dog and stop it from attacking him.
Five minutes later, Sweat said his granddaughter came around the corner to tell him the teen was back, and was now beating Nikki with a baseball bat in their yard.
Sweat said his granddaughter told him that the teen called for the dog to come to him, then began hitting the dog with the bat. When Kayla tried to protect her dog, the boy pushed her aside and continued hitting Nikki, Sweat said. Sweat did not witness or hear any of this, he said.
Sweat went to his front yard and demanded that the boy leave. But he said the teen just taunted him until another neighbor came out and Advertisement told the boy to leave. A car eventually picked the boy up and he left, Sweat said.
Sweat said animal control agents and police told Sweat the incident was his own fault because the dog was not restrained. "They said the kid had the right to protect himself," Sweat said. "All he had to do was say he was afraid of the dog."
Sweat said Nikki is harmless. He bought her from the Humane Society and gave her to his granddaughter as a gift when she was in first grade.
Sweat said Nikki suffered some bruising and a leg injury, but she suffered no broken bones nor internal bleeding. After $400 in veterinarian bills, Sweat said Nikki is no longer limping and is off her pain medication. But she is nervous and extremely careful around new people. Sweat hasn't let her out in the front yard since the beating.
Sweat said his granddaughter was traumatized. She refused to sleep in her bedroom and, fearing the teen would return, frequently checked house doors to be sure they were locked.
Sweat said he had never seen the boy, but he is concerned for his future.
"If he's got that type of attitude, he's going to get in trouble," Sweat said. "Either he's going to end up hurt, or he's going to hurt someone else along the way."
"I was dumbfounded that I was somehow at fault," Sweat said. "You mean to tell me that your dog and kid can be sitting in your yard, and someone can come in, take piece of your property, push your grandkid out of the way and beat your animals -- and it's your fault?" Dog rules
Sounds like assault to me. Pursue it as such. Since flyers were handed out, there is a business behind the little dirtbag. Make sure they get lots of adverse publicity.
This boy needs to get sent far away. I’ll just stop there. Anyone who abuses an animal deserves no sympathy.
The boy should probably be put down. There’s no excuse for that - the child is defective and it’s only going to get worse.
The police and animal control also appear to be braindead. Unless Salt Lake has the most draconian laws in the country, you are most certainly not required to keep your animals restrained on your own property.
I would have sued the teen’s parents for the vet bill in small claims court.
Portrait of a sociopath.
As horrible as this is, too bad somebody didn’t film it and call 911...this is just insane. The boy looks like a demented young Dustin Hoffman.
Throw dog abusers in jail like they were child abusers.
I betcha you are pro life as well < /s >
I agree but was the boy carrying a bat with him or did he go get one? If he went and got it, the kid was not defending himself. This then becomes an attack on the dog and not selfdefense.
Liar. If a dog like that "attacked" him, he'd feel it somewhere.
Where’s that photo from?
That's not what I'd call self-defense.
Are you suggesting a completely innocent baby and a sociopathic teen who beats another person’s pet with a baseball bat deserve the same chance at life?
Simple question.
Tyler Weinman, 18, is shown after his arrest in connection with a series of cat killings and mutilations in his Miami-area community. (AP Photo / Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office)
Hope the grandfather puts up a fence, I would.
This kid should be charged with animal cruelty, assault of a minor and trespassing, but methinks he must have 'connections' of some sort to get away with the crap he has.
Ah, I see...
The cops would be the least of that kid’s worries if it had happened to my dog.
I don’t either but what the granddaughter said can’t be proved. I DO believe her. My point was that the officials statement is not logical as the kid would have had to be carrying the bat. Wonder if the kids parents have influence etc.
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