A Missouri deputy who shot a family’s dog and dumped its body in a ditch is being sued by the family for killing their dog in a “totally unjustified,” “senseless” and illegal manner.
In August of this year, the family dog, a nine-year-old Labrador mix named Parker, ran away from his family’s home during a storm.
Parker ended up at a neighbor’s house after becoming disoriented during the storm.
The neighbor, Hillary Mayberry, called the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Office for help. However, instead of returning Parker to his family and home, Stoddard County Police Officer Rodger Seal shot him and dumped his body in a ditch.
According to trial filed Oct. 31 by Parker’s owners, Tylla and Bryan Pennington, Seal arrived at Mayberry’s home and took the dog into his patrol vehicle and left.
Seal then took the dog to a nearby wooded area. In the wooded area, Seal called Parker to get out of the patrol car and come towards him. Parker agreed and that’s when he shot the poor dog.
According to the suit, Parker did not die immediately after being shot. “IInstead, Parker suffered greatly from the initial gunshot wound for approximately eight (8) minutes.
“During those eight (8) minutes, Parker was drugged to the ground by Defendant Seal. After eight (8) minutes of excruciating pain, Defendant Seal shot Parker again, ultimately killing Parker. After finally killing Parker, Defendant Seal dumped Parker’s lifeless body in a ditch.
The suit argues that even though Stoddard County has a written policy allowing a deputy to shoot animals, they should be considered “dangerous, sick or incapacitated,” which Parker was not.
The lawsuit claims that it was clear from the dog’s behavior that it was a “neither injured, nor dangerous, nor sick, nor incapable of acting. »
According to the lawsuit, Seal “committed the crime of animal abuse” for intentionally killing the dog and leaving it to suffer for 8 minutes after shooting it the first time.
The suit also alleges that Stoddard County has “an unwritten policy, pattern and practice of routinely killing and disposing of dogs. »
Pennington family attorney Russ Oliver says Time by the river, “This is absolutely unacceptable.”
Oliver also reveals that the family is suing for $5 million. “to ensure that no one else’s dog is executed in a remote area and thrown into a ditch by people funded by our taxpayers’ money.”