Robert H. Anderson claims in a federal lawsuit filed this week in Salt Lake City that Benjamin B. Negus came home from church Jan. 15, 2012, to see the white husky named Daisy leaving his property carrying a dead duck.
Negus "lured" the dog into the bed of his pickup and drove to a gas station where he talked with Rich County sheriff's deputy Dennis Salzetti, according to the suit. Negus asked Salzetti if he had the right to kill the dog, and the deputy said that he did.
State law does allow the killing of a dog if it is "attacking domestic fowls," but Anderson alleges Negus had no right to kill the dog since it was no longer in the process of attacking his ducks.
"In the present case, the dog was in the back of Mr. Negus’s pickup, peaceful and quiet, up until the time Negus summarily executed her," the complaint reads.
According to the lawsuit, Negus drove the dog to another place [led the dog out of the back of his pickup truck and then proceeded] "to shoot the animal once in the guts and once in the head."
Salzetti then went to Anderson's house to tell him the dog had been killed.
Negus initially refused to tell Anderson where he left the dog, but after a couple of days he "dumped the remains on the road" outside Anderson's property, the suit says.
The Negus family declined to comment Friday.
Anderson is seeking compensation for "extreme emotional distress" over the killing of Daisy.
"The value of the dog, given the heartfelt relationship between dog and master, is priceless, but not less than $10,000, or such greater amount as shall be proven at trial," according to the lawsuit.
Salzetti violated state law and due process when he told Negus he could shoot the dog and failed to get Anderson's side of the story "before the summary execution," the lawsuit says.
Anderson said when he complained to the sheriff's office about the killing, Rich County charged him with a class B misdemeanor for allowing a vicious animal to run at large. A justice court jury later acquitted him.
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| Sheriff Dale Stacey |
(ksl.com - Aug 31 2013)
ReplyDeletepeople with dogs need to protect them from those who would gut shoot them if given the chance . this means not letting them roam . too bad but its both the nature of dogs and people to kill and to harm others .
i side with the shooter. this is dog centric bullshit. my duck is as important to me as your dog is to you.
ReplyDeleteIn my state, and most states, you have EVERY LEGAL RIGHT to kill a dog found maiming, killing or harassing your livestock, including POULTRY.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, if your dog makes it home alive, and the owner of the livestock notifies you that your dog has killed their livestock, you have a LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY to put your dog down within 48 hours.
I WILL shoot and kill any dog going after any of my livestock. Have you ever seen a sheep or a horse shredded by a dog? I've seen both.
Not having the right to kill a dog that's killing or attacking livestock is equivalent to not having the right to kill an intruder with a knife who is chasing one of your family.
The legal responsibilities of dog ownership are so seldom understood that dog owners shocked when their dogs get killed by an angry farmer. SHOCKED.