Ohio teens found guilty of beating and slashing Great Pyrenees to death in its own backyard

OHIO -- Two teens were on trial Monday, Sept. 28, in a shocking case of animal abuse.

While they denied having anything to do with the crime, a Hamilton County juvenile court magistrate didn't buy it. Late Monday afternoon, she found the two teens guilty of trespassing and animal cruelty.

Anyone who knows dogs will tell you that "peers," Great Pyrenees, are like big, fluffy, sweet stuffed animals. They're well-known for their gentle dispositions. November 2014, Nani was in a secure, fenced backyard when some vicious teenagers came over that fence and proceeded to slash and beat the dog to a pulp.

The owner of the dog, Sherry Mills, said she has been threatened and terrorized ever since her Great Pyrenees was killed in the backyard of her Price Hill home on Beech Avenue.
   
She was at work November 12, 2014, when the dog was attacked, “I'm calling her name Nani, and then I just see her; blood everywhere, out of her head just laying on the ground in the backyard. I pray for justice."
   
The two boys, who were both 14-years-old at the time, hoisted a much smaller 9-year-old over the fence, then came over and the attack began. The veterinarian who examined the dead dog said he'd been slashed and beaten.

"When I've met a Great Pyrenees they've always appeared to be gentle kind, sort of lumber, doofy dogs. All of the trauma was to the head, ear and neck," said Dr. Tamara Goforth.
   
The case came to light when the 9-year-old's mother became concerned about his violent nightmares. She went to Sherry Mills. Local 12 will not be identifying the mom to protect the child.

 

The mother said, "He kept seeing the dog bloody and laying there crying. I think one time he seen the dog coming at him, bloody and crying."
   
The teenagers, who are brothers, sat looking bored through much of their trial. Their aunt and guardian testified they were closely supervised, good kids. Magistrate Wende Cross found that even though the teens testified, they were not credible and she found the 9-year-old's story was "absolutely compelling."
   
In the end she found the teens guilty of animal cruelty and trespassing.

Sherry Mills told Local 12 News when she bought her home a couple of years ago, she had no idea her neighborhood was so vicious and violent. She said she's had two death threats since the trial began, because she called the police. In a few weeks, she plans to sell her home, take her kids and leave the state.

The teens were set to be sentenced October 27. The teens went home pending a probation investigation by juvenile court authorities. They were put under an order to stay away from the victim and her family.

   
The charges were misdemeanors and the two have no prior criminal record. At sentencing they could be put on probation or ordered into some sort of programs for treatment.

(Local12 - Sept 28, 2015)