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| RIP Peanut |
John Harvick and Angela Harvick pleaded guilty last month to a charge of animal cruelty and were ordered to serve a total of 128 hours of community service, pay fines of more than $400 and pay the dog’s medical bills of $4,340.67, according to the county news release.
The Harvicks adopted Peanut, a black, tan and white mixed-breed puppy from the shelter on Oct. 27, 2009, according to an arrest warrant.
[In another article, little Peanut was described as a Beagle terrier mix.]
About April 1, 2011, someone found the dog “clearly starved with his bones showing through his coat,” according to the warrant and news release.
Peanut was taken to the shelter where staff found a identifying microchip that had been implanted before he was adopted, the warrant said. When contacted, John Harvick told an animal cruelty officer that he had lost the dog two days earlier, said the warrant.
John Harvick said the dog had gotten skinny in October 2010 because “it had eaten women's undergarments,” according to the warrant. He told investigators that the dog recovered but then began ailing again later, but that he couldn’t afford to take the dog to a veterinarian, the warrant said.
A veterinarian who examined the dog on April 2, 2011, said Peanut showed symptoms of starvation, infection, anemia and heartworms, according to the warrant. The animal shelter and two veterinary hospitals tried to save the dog but he died two weeks later, according to the news release.
The Harvicks were sentenced to perform part of their community service at the Williamson County shelter, but they are to be under supervision at all times and “not handle any animals,” according to a court document.
(Statesman - Feb 23, 2012)
