Family demands justice for dog - Pet mongrel chopped to death inside yard

A quiet St Ann yard turned into a scene of terror on Sunday after a farmer allegedly stormed onto private property and butchered a family dog with a machete, sending children screaming out of fear and disbelief.

The dog's owner said the man walked through her gate, headed straight for where their mongrel dog, Rocky, was chained and chopped it to death.

She said the farmer had come to the family two days earlier, accusing their dog of killing his goat -- a claim she flatly rejects.

"He lives about nine minutes away and came starting contention, saying he thinks it is our dog and that he is going to kill every dog in the community," she said.

She further insisted that Rocky was always tied and never interfered with other animals.

"He said our dog and my neighbour's dog killed his goat, but my neighbour hasn't had a dog in over a year.

"We told him if you are 100 per cent sure, come with the facts and we will pay if that's the case. But it wasn't our dog, we are sure [because] he is always tied up," she said.

Rocky, she said, was not just a pet -- he was family.

"We gave him showers, wrapped him in towels like a baby, bottle fed him, put clothes on him. When he was a puppy, he slept in our beds. We had a bond with him," the dog owner said.

She told THE STAR that Rocky shared a close bond with the family's four children -- all under the age of 10 years old -- two of whom were on the verandah and looked on in astonishment as the dog was viciously butchered.

"They screamed and ran inside the house," she said.

"The yard is built for them to play around, and they were just running and roaming like children when this gentleman came through the gate and just slaughtered the dog," the incensed dog owner said.

Since the incident, she said the emotional toll on her family, especially the children, has been severe.

"They haven't been to school, they stay inside, they haven't been eating, and they have been crying. I had to go online and find a therapist," she said.

The dog owner is now calling for justice for Rocky, and stronger laws to protect animals in Jamaica.

"Dogs are not protected and seen as living breathing animals, people feel they can do these things. I really want justice for this dog," she said.

In addition to reaching out to lawmakers, the woman has made an initial report to the police. She said the lawmen have committed to taking a formal report today.

Meanwhile, contacted for comment on the matter, attorney-at-law Bert Samuels said the dog owner can sue the man who allegedly killed her dog as animals are regarded as property.

"It is an offence that should be reported. Your dog is your property and anybody that kills your property or damages your property you can sue them in the civil court," he said.

Samuels explained that the incident constitutes a criminal offence under the Cruelty to Animals Act, "where section 9 speaks of the unnecessary suffering in killing any animal".

A person convicted under this law can be imprisoned for up to three months and fined a maximum $1,000.

Samuels says the aggrieved dog owner should use the law to have the matter addressed.

"Go to the police for the criminal law and then go to a lawyer with what was the value of the dog and you can sue him (the offender) for the loss," he said.

For her part, the dog owner wants parliamentarians to do more to protect animals.

"There needs to be more education for everyone in Jamaica regarding dogs safety, and the laws are outdated," she said. "We need to take it more seriously. In the same way we shouldn't kill people, we shouldn't kill animals especially a pet," she said.