Saturday, July 25, 2015

Dog’s owner finds peace after conviction of 11-year-old boy who beat animal to death

TEXAS -- The owner of a dog that was beaten to death earlier this year by an 11-year-old neighbor said she’s happy the boy will get the help he needs.

“It turned out as well as we could have hoped for,” Jennifer Knittel said.


The Fort Worth boy was found guilty Thursday in juvenile court of an animal cruelty charge that’s equivalent to a felony in adult court, said Sam Jordan, spokeswoman for the Tarrant County district attorney’s Office.

The 11-year-old, who is not being identified because he’s a juvenile, will be sentenced after court-ordered mental exams, Jordan said. Authorities will also assess his potential for violence toward people and animals.


He was released until his sentencing but was ordered to not have contact with animals, be supervised by adults at all times and not contact Knittel. The testing will take four to six weeks, Jordan said.

On May 11 the boy used a stick to beat the dog to death, fracturing its skull and severing its spine, before leaving the body on a porch in his north Fort Worth neighborhood, Knittel said Friday.

The boy’s family lives about four blocks away from Knittel, she said. She hasn’t talked to them since the Cavalier King Charles spaniel was killed, but said the family sent her an apology letter.


Knittel said she was shocked and devastated when she heard about what happened to her dog, Cookie.

“A few days later I was still expecting Cookie to walk through the door,” she said. “I just had so many emotions and didn’t really know what to think because it was a boy who did this.”

Knittel said her other dog, a German shepherd puppy named Sam, spent weeks looking for Cookie and whining.

Cookie was beaten to death by this little boy

People from all over the world reached out to support and console her, she said.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with support,” Knittel said. “The amount of love and people that Cookie brought together is amazing.”
(Dallas News - July 24, 2015)

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