Is it illegal to shoot and kill your pet in the state of NC? any jail time possible?? please say YES!?

Question

My neighbors shot their pitbull puppy because it had parvo and weren't willing to pay the costs of curing it. So they took the sh*t way out and shot it in the head and then threw it away in our dumpste rlike it was trash. I even offered to take the puppy myself and have it see a vet (my best friends mom is a vet) and then offered to find it a better, more stable home. These people are not right in the head to start with; this is their 3rd dog in 2 months. The other two apparently just did not fit the bill with them so they just set them free to roam the streets or get hit by a car. Those poor dogs did nothing to deserve owners like them and now one of them is dead for sure and i want to know if they can serve jail time for animal cruelty. I know for a fact that that puppy would have lived through its case of parvo. So if anyone can let me know that would be great. I have no proof that the dog is dead cuz the trash came and picked it up yesterday other than it no longer is at their hou

Answer 1

Here are the laws pertaining to animals in NY,,>http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/dawson/cruelty/ny_cruel.htm
Here is where to report abuse in NY > http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_report

Here is site for investigation> http://www.nyshumane.org/Manual/toc_manual.htm

Answer 2

Not all dogs live through parvo, by the way. And projectile euthanasia is a valid method of euthanasia, if done properly.

Now, do I think this dog could have been dealt with in a better manner? Absolutely. Your neighbors could have contacted animal control to come get the dog and have it euthanized. Or they could have taken it to the local shelter, or even a local vet. I would not refuse to euthanize a pet that had a potentially fatal disease, if the people did not want to treat it.

Maybe I am a bit jaded, but I have seen too many people come in and refuse treatment and euthanasia for their very ill pets, only to take them home to suffer and die. At least this dog is not suffering. He probably didn't even have a clue what was going on.

I'm not sure what the laws are in your state, but the proper disposal of the animal's remains may be dictated by the city. I don't think that the garbage can is a legal way to dispose of an animal body, but I don't know about legally.

In any case, the most you can do at this point is bring these people to the attention of local animal control. You can't help the puppy that is gone, but maybe you can help any future pets of this family, or maybe prevent them from having them. You could educate them that parvo is very contagious, and hangs around in the environment for 6-12 months, so they should not get another puppy for at least a year.

Answer 3

Chetco....she needs sites pertaining to the laws of North Carolina if you can find any (not New York.) ;-)

And Tom's right, but I'm glad he said it first.
1) It's not possible for ANYONE to 'know for a fact' any pup will survive parvo. Yes, they often do (with proper treatment)....but many times they'll appear to be getting better, only to take a sudden nosedive and die. It's very unpredictable.
2) The law looks at dogs like personal property. If they had shot it in the leg and left it to die....THAT would constitute animal cruelty. But shooting your own animal in the head to alleviate suffering from a disease is considered to be euthanasia in most states. Is it the best way, imo? Well, no...of course not. But it's an 'acceptable' alternative if it's done correctly.

To the asker....you should certainly report it, imo....so there will be a record if these people indeed are unstable. (Who knows what they might do in the future???!) But don't be surprised if nothing is done over this incident, since there was probably not a violation of any law. Even if there was, you don't even have any proof. :-/

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Answer 4

QUOTE
"I know for a fact that that puppy would have lived through its case of parvo."

Is that a fact,,, how about informing us all about the school of veterinary medicine that you graduated from .

Parvo is fatal more often than not, and depending on what the puppy's temperature was (do you know what the puppy's temperature was??) it may have sustained brain cell damage, and never fully recovered had it lived.
We are often way to quick to let our emotions drive our thought processes and start screaming "lets call the animal planet channel and do a special on animal cops". when in fact the person *MAY* have been doing the pet a favor.

Now to answer your question. With the puppy by your own admission having Parvo, SPCA et all will do nothing. The person did not commit a crime, any more than the person that would shoot a dog in the head after it was badly injured by a car.

Sorry to poop on everyones parade, but sometimes reality isn't the way we would like it to be

Answer 5

Oh, how absolutely horrible and what a terrible thing to do to any living creature. What B@ST@RDS!!!!!!!

I'm not sure what you can so since the dog was already picked up, but if it were me, I would sure as heck be on the phone calling every animal control agency in your county.

Hopefully, some of the other sites listed by the others will be able to help. I certainly hope so. These people don't deserve to have as much as a cricket living in their house. I am appalled that anyone could be so cruel.

Bless your heart for wanting to try and find some justice for this poor pup. Good luck to you. I hope that poor little puppy is is finally resting in peace. *sniff, sniff, sniff"

Answer 6

Not sure about jail time but call your local animal shelter and let them know whats going on. I'm not sure what they can do if anything without proof, but they will sure keep an eye on them so it won't happen agian. And they may be able to find them if the trash only ran yesterday. There was a case here in WV like that. There was blood dripping out of the back of a trash truck and authorities thought it was a human. Come to find out it was like 5 or 6 dogs. I'd call someone tomorrow morning and let them know.

Answer 7

With having all of this information you have just shared...let me ask you this. Did you contact the nearest Animal Care and Control office? Did you contact your local Sheriff? Did you contact the the City's office for help and information to make a report on what you have just shared? These are valuable tools in reporting cruelty to animals. I would start there. When you do make reports you are issued a case or a confirmation number to follow up on so you can see what is being done. Bottom line is this. Report it now.

Answer 8

i imagine you'r no longer observing this properly. The legal man or woman has to abide through his us of a's guidelines and if i'm no longer incorrect, you do pass to detention middle for killing someone the following interior the U. S.. The legal man or woman killed someone even as he ought to were following the U. S. guidelines. human beings have a precise to stay even with the position they're interior the international or their legal prestige. seem at it this way, in case you've been on vacation in Canada, and a Canadian kills you, then you would imagine it really is f...ked up, precise?

Answer 9

I just saw this in passing so I don't know what other people have already said but this should be considered animal cruelty in most states, so definitely get the law involved. People like this deserve to be put in my buddy's basement so he can try torture techniques on them. I wish we could just eliminate them.

Answer 10

Sad as it may be the only crime that was committed was the discharge of the firearm. There are laws relating to the disposal of the body. Though a sin ,killing your pet is not a crime. Cruelty or torture are. Sorry its not the answer you wanted to hear.

Answer 11

What you need to do is to call the ASPCA and report it. ot sure what the laws are there, but from what I have heard, they have some of the strictest laws on animal abuse. Good luck. You can report it and ask that your name not be used. Probably no jail time, but they will probably get a fine.