Photo:Michigan State Police/Facebook
Michigan State Police/Facebook
A Michigan man who fatally shot his neighbor’s dog in February before cutting off the animals head and legs was sentenced on Monday after previously pleading guilty.
Thomas Middaugh, 44, was sentenced to 60 days in jail with two-days credit and two years of probation, according tocourt documentsfrom the 28th Circuit Court, Wexford County.
Judge Jason Elmore handed down the sentencing, saying it was “concerning that [Middaugh] cut off the dog’s legs and decapitated him and I can’t find anywhere where that makes sense,” the outlet reported.
Middaugh said during the hearing in front of the dog’s owners, Justin and Samantha Olds, that he wanted to “apologize for the whole situation,” per the outlet.
According to aMarch press releasefrom Michigan State Police, the Olds had reported that their 7-year-old dog named Bear was killed in Wexford Township on February 4. The couple told police that the black Labrador retriever had “wandered off the property” the day before.
The Olds followed their dog’s tracks to a pool of blood in the snow at a neighboring property, which also had tire tracks leading up to where the dog had been, per the release.
Michigan State Police determined that Middaugh had shot Bear multiple times with a .22 caliber rifle before he “cut the head and legs off the dog, wrapped it in a tarp and put it inside a box that he hid inside his barn.”
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The Olds' told theTraverse City Record Eaglethat Bear was a family pet with a gentle nature.
They also noted that the dog had his collar and tags on, indicating that he belonged to their family — which made it illegal under Michigan law for Middaugh to harm the animal unless the dog was killing livestock on his property. The Olds' told the publication Bear was not killing livestock.
source: people.com
