Arizona man says he gave schnauzer to friend days before the dog was killed in Bay County

MICHIGAN -- When Bay City resident Aaron A. Bellor was arraigned on a felony related to the killing of a schnauzer, he twice told the court he was the owner of the dog. But a Phoenix man, formerly of Bay County, claims the dog was his and he gave her to Bellor’s girlfriend mere days before the pet was scalded with boiling water and then run over with a car.

“I’m so upset,” said the dog’s former owner, James Westergard. “She was such a good dog. I just found out about it today.”

Westergard said he adopted the 4- or 5-year-old schnauzer, named Sassy Darcy, in late November from Bay County Animal Control. The next month, though, Westergard and his partner Jonathan Clark decided to relocate to Phoenix.

“We moved to Arizona … unaware we were unable to bring Sassy with us until after we adopted her,” Westergard said. “We also have a miniature Chihuahua and a Chiweenie (and) our new apartment complex here in Phoenix only allows two animals per apartment.”

Westergard said he and Clark were devastated, but were in high hopes when a female friend of theirs offered to adopt Sassy. Westergard gave Sassy to the woman on or about Sunday, Jan. 19, three days before police allege Bellor killed the animal.

Westergard on Dec. 12 uploaded a photo of Sassy to his Facebook. Bellor’s girlfriend commented on it, “Awe she’s is so cute … if it don't work out I would take her for ya.”

“She reassured us she was going to a good home, saying, ‘She will be eating steak and potatoes for dinner every night,’ ” Westergard said. “We did not leave her in Aaron Bellor’s care, who is (the woman’s) boyfriend. He was absolutely not her owner.”

According to court records, Bellor told Bay County Sheriff’s Detective Chris Mausolf on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 22, that he was boiling water when he accidentally spilled some on Sassy. He told Mausolf that he panicked and tried putting the dog in a bathtub, but she was crying and her hair was falling out.

Bellor told the detective he then put Sassy in a car and drove to Portsmouth Township. He let the dog out of the car and planned on leaving her to freeze to death, but then called her over to the car and ran over her two times, Bellor told the detective.

Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida arraigned Bellor on a four-year felony count of torturing or killing an animal on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

Mausolf on Friday, Feb. 14, said that a necropsy was performed on Sassy’s remains and that she did have severe burns. He did not speculate whether the dog would have survived those burns if Bellor had taken her to a veterinarian.

[This POS got mad and dumped boiling water on her. Maybe he was trying to have sex with her? Maybe she was afraid of him and he was mad that she didn't suddenly 'like' him and hid from him? Maybe she peed on the floor and that enraged him? He didn't "accidentally" dump boiling water on her.]

Mausolf also confirmed that Bellor and his girlfriend told him they had acquired the dog from someone else, but they couldn’t recall their names.

“I just can’t believe this happened,” Westergard said, saying he learned of Sassy’s fate from a friend sharing a Times article covering Bellor’s arraignment on his Facebook page. “My heart is broke. I consider my animals my kids."

Since the killing, a makeshift memorial has been erected at the site of Sassy’s death at the intersection of German and South Mielens roads.

“I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how someone could hurt Sassy,” he continued. “She was beyond a good dog and was a true asset to anyone’s family, so why this happened is beyond me.”

Bellor is free on a personal recognizance bond. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary examination before Klida at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 24.

The Times has been unable to reach Bellor for comment.

(MLive - February 20, 2014)

Earlier:

• Men face jail in boiling water, hammer attacks on dogs