Posted on 10/17/2009 10:35:51 AM PDT by Chet 99
After running over a dog on a rural road in McClellanville on Thursday morning, the driver of a pickup truck tried to "put the dog out of its misery" by whacking the animal with a machete and a hammer, authorities said.
The dog's owner heard the dog's plaintive yelping and ran out of his house, grabbed the machete and hammer and started waling away with the hammer, attacking the man who had been attacking his dog.
The driver was hospitalized with a skull fracture. The dog's owner is in jail, accused of trying to kill the driver. The dog, whose name is "Dingo," was hanging on for his life Thursday night.
"There are humane ways to euthanize an injured dog," said
Dr. Sarah Boyd, a veterinarian at Charleston Animal Society. Using a hammer and machete is not among them, she said.
According to a report from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, the incident began about 9:30 a.m. on Tupelo Road, when a dog ran into the road and was hit by a pickup truck. The driver told deputies he got out and saw that the dog was dragging its hindquarters and he suspected his back was broken.
He told deputies he didn't feel it would be right to drive away and leave the dog in pain so he decided to kill the dog. He asked a passing motorist if he had a gun. The motorist didn't have one. He said he took a machete and hammer from his truck and struck the dog several times.
The dog's owner told deputies he heard his dog squealing in pain and ran outside to see a man standing over him with a machete and a hammer. He said he grabbed the weapons and started hitting the man.
A deputy arrived about 10:15 a.m. to find the dog lying on the side of the road, bleeding, the driver sitting in his truck, also bleeding, and the dog's owner standing outside his home.
William T. Youngman, 57, of Dupre Road in McClellanville, was taken by Charleston County EMS to Medical University Hospital. A physician told the deputy that Youngman had a skull fracture on the left side of his head, multiple orbital fractures and a cut on top of his head. He was unable to hear out of his left ear and doctors were going to hold him for observation because of the head injuries, according to the deputy's report. A hospital spokeswoman said late Thursday that Youngman was in good condition.
James Brian Kennedy, 42, of Tupelo Road, is charged with assault and battery with intent to kill and malicious injury to personal property. He was being held in the Charleston County jail. His bond hearing was scheduled for today.
Kennedy's mother, Helen Kennedy, told The Post and Courier that Dingo had wandered onto her son's property about a year ago.
"You could tell he'd been abused," she said. "He's scared of people. My son's been real attached to him and loves him to death. It's taken a year for the dog to get to the point where he would eat out of my son's hand."
She described her son as an animal lover who has cats and kittens as well as the dog. The dog, she said, would not come into her son's house, but he would follow Kennedy wherever he went in his yard.
Dingo was taken by sheriff's animal control officers to the Charleston Animal Society shelter on Remount Road in North Charleston, where shelter officials were hoping to be able to save the dog.
Boyd, the veterinarian, said Dingo was a Carolina Dog and about 3 years old. She said the dog was sitting up and alert when he arrived but he that was unable to walk. He had cuts on his head and nose and a bruised left eye. It was difficult to tell which injuries were caused by the accident and which were caused by the machete or hammer. Animal cruelty charges are pending against Youngman, according to the Sheriff's Office.
About 6 p.m. Thursday, Dingo took a turn for the worse and was taken to an animal hospital.
Jim Bush, executive director of the shelter, said doctors at the clinic found no broken bones.
"It began to look like he had a broken pelvis or broken back, but he has no fractures that we can see," he said. "It doesn't look like his organs are ruptured."
Bush said doctors were "guardedly optimistic" about Dingo's prognosis.
The dog has been moved to an emergency clinic.
The owner was protecting his dog. It was not up to the driver to “put the dog out of its misery.” That wasn’t his decision to make.
There should be no charges filed against the owner.
If I wanted to kill a dog with a hammer or a machete, I am pretty sure I could do so rather quickly.
“There should be no charges filed against the owner.”
No charges for attempted murder? I would have split that guy in two. Last I checked, humans were far above DOGS on the chain of command. I hope he rots in jail.
He should have left the dog alone. If the owners were protecting and responsible, the dog wouldn’t have been in the road.
>>Last I checked, humans were far above DOGS on the chain of command. I hope he rots in jail.<<
Lets put it another way — the owner was protecting his property from wanton destruction.
And I disagree with your perspective. Most dogs are way above many humans in all important aspects.
If he were to have attacked my dog with a hammer and a machete, I might have reloaded after I emptied my clip into the worthless sob.
This wasn’t a dog who’d attacked someone. The man hit the dog with his truck and then proceeded to try to take it out with a hammer and machete. Brutal!
I am no animal lover here. But, I can understand an owner coming across that scene, flipping out, and defending his dog. The driver is lucky he wasn’t killed.
My Golden Retriever voted in the last election /sarc
The driver is at fault, he could have found the owner since the dog ran into the street right in front of the owner’s house.
The dog owner was just trying to protect his property.
I hope the dog owner will get off without jail time, maybe a year’s probation, considering it’s a rural community who understands about animal ownership.
The guy who ran over the dog should be fined the cost of the animal’s care, court costs, and have to do 200 hours community service at the Animal Shelter and be put on probation for two or three years.
[Tuesday, going to pick up my dogs at the kennel, I saw two little bitty puppies in the road. I stopped my car and they ran towards me and then under the car. I was able to grab them and drove down the dirt driveway looking for the owner. After I located her, I returned the puppies {a mix of black lab and australain shepherd} and spent about forty-five minutes talking to the owner. I already have two dogs but the little runt of the litter that snuggled under my chin was tempting me to take her home.]
If the guy had run over my ex, I’d have been OK with it, but my dog?
He should have got the dog off to the side of the road, found out who the owner was and went to his house and told him what happened. Or at least sent someone to the house.
The human, who came to the aid of his animal friend is way above the waste of oxygen, who tried to kill the dog with a hammer and machete.
After reading the article and seeing the picture, it is hard, even for me, to make the case that putting the dog out its misery was the best choice.
Poor thing looks pretty good, considering.
Would you have shot the man if he trespassed onto your property or broke into your home?
Oh I see. The owner should get off with probation AFTER trying to kill the guy who ran over his dog that was not confined and the guy who was driving should pay for the damage to the dogs health.
Guess who wins in a court case? The driver. Since the owner did nothing to prevent the dog from going into the street which resulted in this disaster, he is responsible for damages. Both to the driver and the costs of the dogs health.
If they were to put my ass on the jury the dog owner would get a pass for this one.
And I am not even crazy about dogs.
Cheers!
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