La. Humane Society says it’s among rash of pet attacks
Paul Anders is still trying to understand why anyone would have hurt let alone kill his beloved Maggie and severely injured Pete in Montz.
It’s the same question pet owners in the region are asking about why anyone would shoot their beloved dogs in Bunkie, La., and Picayune, Miss. But the New Orleans-based Humane Society of Louisiana says it’s gotten reports of five dogs, all family pets, being shot in four separate incidents.
In Bunkie, a 16-year-old deaf pug named Meiko was allegedly shot in Eunice on April 10 by a neighbor who was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals. A day later, Zena, a pit bull mix, was shot in Bunkie and survived with the shooting found on film by detectives. By April 18, Zeus, a friendly pit bull, was shot with a pellet gun in Picayune, Miss., piercing both his lungs and costing thousands in vet bills with no suspect identified.
Humane Society Director Jeff Dorson said these actions were cruel and hurt families.
“All of these deaths and injuries could have easily been prevented and all the heartache avoided,” Dorson said. “We’re asking the public to stop shooting dogs. Maybe those facing charges will see the errors of their ways and refrain from taking such drastic action in the future and we’re hoping others will show equal restaint.”
Among them were Anders’ two dogs, which left him questioning how someone could shoot such friendly pets.
When Maggie and Pete dug their way out of the yard in Montz, their owner Paul Anders searched for them.
“I continued to look for them all afternoon,” Anders said of the March 21 incident. “I heard the shots from that area, but I didn’t think much of it. The dogs like to play with the kids in the neighborhood so they never really left the area.”
The two dogs – Pete, a mixed breed and rescue dog, and Maggie, a shepherd lab mix – had been with Anders for years.
By 5 p.m., a neighbor asked him if he’d see a photograph of a dog that had been shot and killed that has been posted on a local Facebook page in an attempt to locate the owner. In disbelief, Anders recognized the animal – it was Maggie.Soon after came the call from a local animal shelter that his other dog had been shot, too. Pete had been identified by his microchip, which revealed Anders’ contact information when it was scanned.
The next morning, he learned that Pete had been so severely injured neurologically that the animal was now incontinent and requires Anders’ assistance.
Maggie, who had been with Anders since she was eight weeks old, was recovered and her body cremated. She was about eight years old.
“I’m angry that somebody so heartless could commit such a crime against animals that were clearly someone’s pets and were both non-aggressive,” an angry Anders said. “Both dogs were so friendly they would approach a stranger for petting.”
Anders and his finance’ asked the post be removed to avoid his daughter seeing Maggie dead. But he was furious.
“It’s just awful that someone could do something like this and go on like it never happened,” Anders said.
Anders filed a police report on the day of the shooting and deputies came on the scene that evening. The little girl, a neighbor, who told him about the Facebook post helped them locate Maggie’s body. Soon after, another neighbor told
Anders that he knew about the report that placed still another neighbor at the scene of the shooting and this person was issued a summons for discharging a firearm.
“That’s just not an animal, that’s a member of our family,” said Anders, saddened by the loss. “These are members of people’s families that are getting shot or abused. The public needs to understand that.”
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