He had tiny paws and ears too big for his body.
And, authorities say, he had the misfortune to belong to a vindictive owner, who they say trapped him on top of a stove and cranked up the heat.
Police say Bradley Glenn Boley wanted to punish his 2-and-a-half-month-old Chihuahua for biting him on the wrist in February 2014, so he put the puppy in a kennel and then placed the kennel on a hot stove.
Prosecutors now seek to send Boley, 61, to prison on a charge of animal cruelty after the puppy suffered third-degree burns and had to be put to sleep.
If found guilty of using a deadly weapon to hurt his dog, he faces up to 10 years behind bars.
On the opening day of trial Tuesday, prosecutors read the charge against Boley and he stood and addressed the court in a clear, soft-spoken voice: “I’m not guilty, your honor.”
But prosecutor Felicia Kerney told jurors they would think differently after hearing about the way Buddy yelped and squealed in pain on Feb. 17, 2014.
“We’ve all heard the phrase that a dog is a man’s best friend,” she told jurors during her opening statement. “I’m certain Buddy was wondering, ‘What in the world could I have done to be placed in a situation like this?’”
Veterinarian Ashley Welch testified Tuesday that Buddy was in “critical condition” when Boley and his neighbor brought him in to the clinic where she worked.
She said Buddy was burned, in shock and had melted plastic stuck to his body. He let out shrill cries and smelled so strongly of burnt hair and plastic that the odor could be smelled throughout the clinic, she said.
“Just trying to touch him or manipulate him in any way was painful for him,” she testified.
Kerney presented photos of Buddy’s maimed body for the jury to see. The little dog had black plastic melted to his legs, noses, ears and face. In other parts, his white fur had been burnt and tinged brown.
At this point, Boley, who had been chatting with court staff earlier in the afternoon and had shook his head when Kerney outlined the accusations against him, averted his eyes.
He blinked and looked down. His shoulders began to shake. His attorney gave him a tissue, which he used to wipe his eyes as she rubbed his back.
He would not look up again until the photos of the mutilated puppy were out of sight.
Defense attorney Lisa Fox, who chose not to make an opening statement Tuesday, argued during cross examination that her client cared deeply for Buddy.
She pointed to the vet’s testimony that the team decided to put Buddy to sleep because Boley said he did not want him to suffer, though the police report says Boley appeared apathetic when asked how he wanted the vet to euthanize the puppy.
“I don’t care,” he said without emotion, according to police. “I haven’t had him very long anyway.”
But Fox emphasized the vet’s own medical record, which says she “had no indication to assume a malice act because owner was distraught, had brought patient in for treatment and vocalized several times that he did not want the puppy to suffer in any way.”
People who abuse their children will take them to the hospital - even children who are unresponsive and dying. It doesn't mean they weren't guilty of having beaten, burned, tortured that child.
Testimony continues Wednesday in state District Judge Stephanie Mitchell’s courtroom.
(Dallas Morning News - Dec 1, 2015)
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