Deputies: Dresden dog shot in owner’s yard by neighbor
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DRESDEN, Tenn. — A family dog is shot and killed in his own yard by a neighbor, according to Weakley County Sheriff’s Department. Now animal activists are trying to gather support and bring an end to animal cruelty. According to his owners, Boomer the dog was just walking around his yard the morning he was shot. “It’s not like I’m out to hurt him or get even with him. I just want him to stop what he’s doing,” Donna Martin, Boomer’s owner said. Donna Martin said her brother, who lives next door, fired his gun through her fence, which had been put up to keep her dogs out of his yard. “I got as much fence as I possibly could get and afford. I worked by myself to put up this fence down the yard,” Martin said. According to the Weakley County Sheriff’s Department, residence can shoot an animal if they feel threatened. Local animal rights activist Susan Lyngaas said there must be consequences for killing a defenseless animal. “Animal cruelty should be enforced, prosecuted, and sentences with the same seriousness as any other murder,” Susan Lyngaas said. Lyngaas said she has seen dozens of animal cruelty cases throughout the county and wants to see it stopped. “There are a lot of people in the community at a grass roots level that are very supportive of the cause and say they would like to see change as well,” she said. Martin and her family said they have filed animal cruelty charges against her brother in hopes of putting an end to this once and for all. “It breaks my heart because it’s my brother but it’s my daughter and my grandchildren that he’s killing their dogs,” Martin said. The family is expected to appear in Weakley County court to address the charges on October 22. There will also be an animal cruelty rally held outside the courthouse the same day.
