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
Likely. Too bad the dog can't talk.
Simple question.
Of course. That teen didn't take another person life.
Simple question?
We should routinely put down people who are insane, you seem to imply that very thing?
Somebody should notify chet99, it looks like a pitbull to me.......
Too bad the neighbors don't. Someone had to see something.
This truly is nuts. Was the kid walking around with a bat? If so why did no one call the police, right? Or did he go get one. Are the officials saying he told the dog to "stop the attack, I'll be right back"?
There's a comment section at the link and I am tempted.
Who said the kid is insane?
More likely he's simply evil.
Insanity can be cured, or at least controlled.
I'm not aware of any such effective treatment for evil.
Are you trying to pick a fight?
First of all, my criteria for which people deserve to live is not limited to just those who murder in cold blood. I don’t have hard numbers on this, but I would wager that 99.999999% of all people who are barked at by dogs do not return with a baseball bat, prey on the dog’s domestic tendencies, and then beat it. Of the remaining 0.000001% who are just unable to prevent themselves from beating a domestic animal, I’d guess around 100% will never in any meaningful way contribute to society.
This kid, who is almost a legal adult (if not so already) is not insane. He is a sociopath, meaning he doesn’t care what’s right and what’s wrong. Insane people don’t beat dogs in somebody else’s yard because they barked at them. Many “insane” people are otherwise helpless and are being cared for. As a society, I believe we are judged on how we take care of those who cannot adequately take care of themselves. This includes domestic animals and the infirm among us. (Note this does not include humans who are otherwise capable of providing themselves but find it easier to just beg the government for handouts.)
This wretch is not incapable of taking care of himself and is most certainly not insane. He’s evil and I will treat him as such.
This was not the teen who beat the dog in this story.
Right? Right.
No not picking a fight just exposing your double standard
You are willing to put down a teen based on a few details where as the teen actually did nothing worthy of death that is if you think hitting a dog is worthy of being put down if you are I would suggest you have the mental problem
We actually do not know the kids mental condition yet you are purpossing to snuff his life out
He is not innocent as a new born baby but certainly not done anything remotely deserving the punishment we meet out to actually killers and the unborn
First of all, maybe you have a hard time picking out hyperbole. I’m not actually advocating the death penalty for this kid. You seem to be hung up on that comment rather than on the substance of the remainder of my post. People that do these sorts of things are not productive members of society. That’s not just my opinion, by the way - it’s pretty well proven.
By the way, according to this story, we DO know the kid’s mental condition. In fact, it’s staring us right in the face.
I missed the description of the teen. Brother or Cracker?
The author of the article is Steve Gehrke.
Sorry I missed your hyperbolic point, but I tend to take people at their word.
In today's heated and anonymous environment, it can be difficult to determine just where a person is coming from.
I have read worse and they were completely serious
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