Posted on 06/18/2003 3:11:07 AM PDT by Buckwheats
Family pet was eaten, police told BY MICHAEL FRAZIER
Posted on Saturday, June 14, 2003
Police were looking for two men Friday in the gruesome killing of a 5-year-old dog that authorities suspect was grilled and eaten.
Capt. Scott Roper of the Jonesboro Police Department would not confirm a police report that indicated a man ate the 50-pound chow, whose paws and other body parts were found simmering on a grill. "How could they be so cruel to an animal that we’ve had since he was a baby," said June Kemp, whose 20-year-old son, Jared, owned the rust-colored chow named Pooh. "It’s been really upsetting to the family."
Jared had attended his grandfather’s funeral a day before police detectives informed the family that the dog had been killed. "They had no right to do that to my dog," Jared Kemp said. "I knew the people who did it. [They] were my socalled friends."
The dog was killed Sunday about 10 p.m. at an apartment complex at 500 W. Elm St.
Authorities are looking for Matthew Harden, 18, and Nick Allison, 20, both of Jonesboro, according to a police report. Neither could be reached Friday.
The case has been handed over to the Craighead County prosecuting attorney’s office. No charges were filed in the case as of late Friday.
The men grew up in the same neighborhood as Jared Kemp, his mother said, adding that her family feels betrayed. "These two boys used to live on the same block," she said. "I don’t know why or how they could do something like this to Jared."
Kemp said her son rushed into her bedroom early Sunday and said Pooh was not in his sleeping pen in the home’s back yard.
She said the dog must have been familiar with his takers because it did not bark. "It looked like the dog went willingly," she said. "We just couldn’t believe when we found out what had happened to the dog."
According to the police report, Harden beat the dog to death with a shovel before he hung it from a ladder to prepare it for cooking. A piece of nylon rope and piles of fur were found at the base of the ladder, Jonesboro police officer Owen Smith wrote in his report.
Justin Spencer, 26, of Jonesboro told police Harden said after he cooked the dog he ate it. Another witness, Ashley Harden, whose relation to Matthew Harden is unknown, also told police that Harden said, "I ate dog," the report said.
Spencer would not comment Friday about the incident.
The macabre case has stirred the Jonesboro community and shaken animal-welfare proponents in Craighead County, said Richard Wang, abuse investigator for Northeast Arkansas Humane Society. "This is an extraordinary incident of animal abuse that’s particularly egregious," Wang said. "I’m really pleased that we haven’t lost our capacity for outrage, and [it is] encouraging the people here are responding to it."
Wang, a political science professor at Arkansas State University, said he handles abuse cases each week, but nothing so severe as Pooh’s killing. However, he said, "this horrible case is just a step away from what I see all the time."
The Humane Society has not been asked to help with the investigation. "I have no idea what we could contribute," Wang said. "The laws are clear, and those people will be brought to justice."
Arkansas’ animal-protection groups say the state’s animal cruelty statute — a Class A misdemeanor — is weak.
In the November 2002 election, animal-welfare activists sponsored a proposed act to toughen penalties for certain acts of animal cruelty, but it was rejected by voters.
The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation and Arkansas Poultry Federation opposed the act, fearing it would expose farmers to prosecution for everyday agricultural practices.
In a legislative session earlier this year, a bill introduced by Rep. Buddy Blair, D-Fort Smith, would have toughened penalties for torturing dogs and cats.
The bill, which passed the House but died in a Senate committee, would have made animal cruelty a Class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Under the current law, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
June Kemp said the family still was trying to come to terms with the cruel loss of a beloved pet. "I don’t know why or how they could do something like this," she said. Information for this article was contributed by Kenneth Heard and Michael Rowett of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
I like puppies, but I don't think I could eat a whole one. ~Anonymous
That is exactly what I was thinking when I read the article... Jonesboro, hmm.
My folks were horrified they had been fattening the dog up to be a meal.
I am still SHOCKED this incident happened in Arkansas. We don't kill pets and eat them...duhhh.
That being said: domesticated animals should be off limits as food unless the physical survival of a human being is at stake. Dogs and cats trust us, and to betray that trust by preying on them denigrates the dignity of the human person.
I just know that I'm about to get flamed for this, but your survival NEVER EVER is dependent upon eating animal flesh. Although you say that there is "no moral reason" one could not eat a dog or cat, that contradicts many, many passages in the Bible, such as Genesis 1:29, Isaiah 11:6-9 (the prophecy of the coming kingdom of Heaven when even carnivores such as lions will eat "straw" instead of flesh), and even Paul's letters in the NT show that he was aware of the sinful consequences of eating meat, according to Romans 14:21 and 1 Corinthians 8:13 (The latter verse is often cited to say that Paul himself was a vegetarian).
B-Chan, I agree with your comment about betraying the trust of the animals that God gave to love us, but I just need to let you know that I extend that to all creatures who are given life and breath from God, as part of my belief (including the defenseless unborn). Buckwheats, I normally have a pretty good sense of humor, even macabre humor, but this deliberate infliction of cruelty leaves me almost unspeakably sad and unwilling to stay silent. I appreciate your posting this article, no matter what flack you might get for doing so. Doug, I thought you might be interested in this thread.
SITUATION
Trapped in a mineshaft: Joe and me and Tim. Days away from rescue. Strength must be maintained to help lift Tim out. No way to get food down collapsed mineshaft. Only other occupant of mine: Fluffy, the Mining Poodle.
QUESTION
Who gets eaten?
***
Every time one rinses with mouthwash, one kills millions of bacteria -- tiny animals, each given life by God. (To a bacterium, Listerine is like hydrochloric acid is to us -- they dissolve in it.)
Is it wrong to use mouthwash?
Is it wrong to use mouthwash?
Killing those bacteria is self-defense of your health. The bacteria can cause gum disease leading to heart problems and tooth loss.
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