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Apr 4, 2008 7:52 am US/Central
Police: Man Killed Neighbors' Dog With Bow, Arrow
LINO LAKES, Minn.
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A Minnesota family's dog was shot after returning from a quick run in the neighborhood.
CBS
A Minnesota man admitted shooting and killing his neighbors' dog with a bow and arrow, police said, leaving a family dealing with the particularly cruel loss.
"He was our little buddy," said Rhonda Neuberger, the dog's owner. "Wally didn't deserve to be killed."
Neuberger, her husband and daughter remember the night two weeks ago when Wally, a beagle mix, came home from a quick run in their neighborhood of Lino Lakes, Minn., about 20 miles northeast of Minneapolis. It was clear he had been badly hurt after being let out.
"I was downstairs, and I heard the yelp too," recalled Rhonda Neuberger.
When she and her family ran outside, they saw their Beagle bloody with an arrow in one side and out the other. It had punctured Wally's lungs and broke his ribs.
"I got down on my knees as low as I could get and held him on me. I had one hand on each wound on each side. There was so much blood. It was pouring through my fingers," recalled Edwin Neuberger. "Melissa was holding his face out of the snow, telling him he was a good boy, kissing and hugging him."
"I saw Ed holding Wally's chest on each side and blood going everywhere," said Rhonda Neuberger. "Us three were holding our dog while he was bleeding to death, and we were all crying."
In a fight to save their beloved pet, they wrapped Wally in blankets and rushed him to the vet.
"I felt his last breath. It was his last breath as soon as we opened the door to take him to the vet," recalled Edwin Neuberger. "I have no idea why someone would do this. We miss him a lot."
A path of blood in the snow led police from the Neuberger family's home to a home across the street, and that's where they arrested Erick Maxwell, 21. He told police he thought he shot a coyote. They say he later changed his story and told them he knew he shot a dog.
Police booked Maxwell into the Anoka County Jail that night, but he's since been released while Lino Lakes Police finish their investigation. The Anoka County Attorney could file an animal cruelty charge against him, which is a felony.
Maxwell's father said this was an accident, and his son feels bad about what happened, according to a report by CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. But the Neubergers say they want justice for Wally - a pet, they say, they treated like family.
"I feel heartbroken," said Rhonda Neuberger.
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