CANADA -- A Richmond Hill woman's peaceful evening walk with her beloved dog took a horrific turn when a man suddenly plunged a spiked stick into the animal's throat, killing it within minutes, she told CityNews in an exclusive interview.
"All I heard was my dog gagging and throwing up blood."
That's how Molly Gayne described the aftermath of the alleged attack that killed her dog Diesel last Friday.
Gayne told CityNews she was walking the six-year-old Shetland Sheepdog on Pine Bough Manor, near 19th and Bayview avenues, when she stopped to talk to a few neighbours across the street from her home.
Gayne said Diesel wasn't on the sidewalk and did nothing to provoke the suspect.
"He hit my dog with this stick," she explained through tears. "I didn't notice anything, but when he pulled back the stick there was a four-inch metal spike at the bottom."
Diesel managed to hobble across the street where he collapsed on Gayne's front lawn and died.
"I got him to the house and he just laid down and he opened his eyes, closed them, then he opened them once more and he was gone."
A 68-year-old area man was arrested and charged with endangering an animal. Police haven't released his name. Neighbours say he lives in a basement apartment nearby with his wife.
Police say they don't have a motive, but one neighbour in the area said the man often complained about dogs barking, and another said he noticed him carrying the makeshift weapon on previous occasions.
"He's always carried a stick with a spike at the end. Last four or five times I seen him he had it," an area resident noted.
Police admit they are baffled and disturbed by the alleged attack.
"This is a completely bizarre case. In my 30 years on the job I've never heard of such a thing," said York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe.
Gayne, who said Diesel helped her through cancer treatments, remains inconsolable and perplexed.
"It was senseless," she cried. "He could have avoided all of it."
The suspect will make a court appearance on May 25. If found guilty he could face up to five years in prison.
(CityTV - April 23, 2012)
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