It’s unlikely the man who beat the dog will face criminal charges, Perry County Sheriff, Gary Schaaf, told Fox 2.
It's been an amazing recovery for Benny, the Chocolate Lab, since the beating on May 24th.
The man who beat him late last month thought Benny was dead, Schaaf said, but there was not enough evidence to charge him with a crime.
Why is this man not a good enough witness? If he's willing to give the police a written statement... if he's willing to get up on the stand and testify that this man told him these things, why isn't that good enough? Why would he perjure himself - and face a felony charge for lying? What does he have to gain from that?
A small child beaten with a hammer may not be able to communicate that this person did it to them, but if the suspect tells another adult what happened, you're telling me that's not enough to charge that person with child abuse??
This is pure laziness from the Perry County Sheriff's Office - and the prosecutor's office. This suspect told the truth when he spoke with Steve Svehla, but when police spoke with him, he changed his story knowing he would be in trouble if he told them the truth. He's clearly lying and Sheriff Gary Schaaf is taking the word of a POS animal abuser over a law-abiding citizen who has no reason to lie.
THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IS THE ONE WHO GOT STEVE SVEHLA INVOLVED BY CALLING HIM.. NOW THEY'RE CALLING HIM A LIAR AND SAYING HIS WORD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH
The sheriff’s department called in Steve Svehla of the Rough Roads Animal Rescue in Perryville after responding to a call in rural Perry County of Benny’s owner beating him unconscious.
“He [Benny’s owner] just told me he said he got fed up, the dog had chased a car. He had to get the dog. He flipped out, took the dog out to the woods, this is his statement: chained the dog to a tree, stood on the chain, and thought he was going to kill him, thought he had killed him, but he knocked him out, so he walked away,” Svehla said.
Svehla has records of statements from Benny’s owner, a relative, and neighbors. He’s also documented Benny’s wounds and vet care.
Benny’s owner admits beating Benny with a hammer, Schaaf said, but he changed his story and is now telling investigators it was self-defense after the dog allegedly attacked him.
OK so where are his bite wounds? What hospital did he go to? Hospitals are required to report all animal bites - for rabies investigation. What injuries does he have? Did investigators ask him why he is now calling Steve Svehla a liar? Why would he have told Steve Svehla this story about being mad because the dog was chasing after a car and beating the dog because he was angry???
There’s no evidence to refute that claim, Schaaf said, no witnesses saw the alleged attack or the actual beating.
“The dog wasn’t on him and he grabbed the nearest thing and started beating him off,” Svehla said. “He put the dog on a chain. If the dog’s that vicious, how’d he get him hooked up? Took him out to the woods, stood on the chain and beat him with a hammer.
"Come on… my concern is the county just passes on this [animal cruelty] all the time…right now, it’s just free reign. If you don’t like that animal, do whatever you want [and the Perry County Sheriff's Department won't do anything about it].”
Benny’s owner did surrender Benny and Benny's brother, another chocolate lab named Bowser, to Rough Roads. Neither dogs is vicious and will be available for adoption soon, Svehla said.
Unless there was new evidence in the case, there will likely be no charges, Schaaf said.
(Fox2 - June 7, 2017)
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