About 10:00 today Noon was doing a bit of gardening in the backyard near our east fence. She hears someone discharging a paint marker gun (paint ball gun) and looks over the fence to see the 50-something year old neighbor chasing his dog around the backyard shooting at it. Pop-pop-pop-YIKES. The dog runs towards our house and cowards under the neighbor's water softener. My wife said that the chase lasted long enough to wind the dog.
My wife comes in and tells me what she saw. I went out and didn't see anything. She pointed out where the dog was now hiding and all I see is a bit of hair - four inches maybe - and it's not moving. I'm not certain what to do nor am I certain what my wife saw. I go in and start to prepare lunch and think about the consequences of starting a war with the neighbor. I have the windows open - it's sunny and 85 degrees here. I hear pop-pop about twenty feet away in the side yards so I walk out the back patio door and see the neighbor disappearing into his back patio door.
I asked my wife "again?" and she said yes, she just saw the guy walk toward the dog and shoot it point blank. I walk into my side yard which is about 18" taller than his and look down to neighbor's water softener. The dog is now visible and has a lime-green paintball spot on it's side. I stand their in disbelief.
The neighbor comes around the side of his home again, I assume that he's going to shoot the dog again, and I catch him eye-ball to eye-ball at a distance of about 15 feet. He's holding his right arm behind his back and I see a barrel sticking out from behind his thigh.
I say to him "do you have a firearm?"
He says back "do you have a firearm?" and brings his paint ball marker out where I can see it.
I ask him "Did you just shoot that dog? That's illegal?"
He starts to answer another question.
I ask him again "did you just shoot that dog?"
He starts to argue with me.
Me "I'm going to call the police"
Him: "Go ahead". My limit for disrespect from stupid people is a wee bit short - too many military years as a Chief and later Master Chief.
I come in and look up the non-emergency number for the sheriff and sit there and think for a bit. I still don't know if it's worth starting a war with the renter next door over his shooting his own dog. While I'm sitting there I hear pop-pop-pop again as the guy continues to torture his dog. That was enough so I dial the police.
The sheriff comes to the house in about 30 minutes. The officer interviews Noon who saw the shot and me who confronted him. The sheriff is going to make contact but calls for back up. "If I go to the door and he points a paint ball gun at me ...".
Two more deputies arrive and they make contact. About 20-minutes later the guy comes out in handcuffs. 50-year old black male, 5'9" medium build wearing a light green shirt and off white pants, small hoop earring in the left ear, shaved head and a goatee. About ten minutes later animal control arrives. The police take pictures of the dog which hasn't moved in the hour or so since getting shot. Animal control reaches in and grabs the dog, it's alive but after being shot a handful of times it's in serious trauma.
Animal control seizes the guys dog. Police take shooter and his marker gun away. I assume that I'll get a call from the DA come business hours tomorrow. I'm also assuming that this will get prosecuted as a felony. In California animal abuse is a wobbler and can go misdemeanor or felony. I got involved with a felony case after a couple of stupid sailors who were aboard my ship kicked a cat to death. I was the command's do-process witness to make sure that the idiots got what they deserved and to represent the USN to the DA.
I'm a dog lover and shooting one for fun with a paint-ball gun at 15-20' is torture. If it was a stupid kid who didn't know what he was doing I can see possibly overlooking it after chewing the kid out but after confronting the guy face-to-face and him continuing to shoot the animal it was too much. I'm sitting here awaiting the guy's wife to come over and confront me now.
So most of you here have good a good head on your shoulders - what would you do? Do you think I went too far?
