They aren't "just dogs"

Nor will they ever be to me. Hell, even a squirrel isn't "just a squirrel" when they can figure out how to outsmart a bird feeder that designed to keep them out in mere weeks, then somehow manage to let their friends know how to do it, too.

This story is sad but it's not a one time thing. I'm sure there have been many more instances of such horrible cases of animal abuse; we just don't get to hear about them as much as the drive-by's. After all, they're "just dogs," right? Or in some cases they're "just cats." Fuckers.

A Denton County man has given police two different versions of how a 10-month-old puppy was burned over 60 percent of her body:

She bumped against a barbecue grill, he told police. Later, he said two men burned her because he owed them money.

Deshann Brown, 21, was arrested shortly after midnight in Corinth, a community in Denton County, and charged with animal cruelty, said Senior Cpl. Jamie Kimbrough, Dallas police spokeswoman.

The 10-month-old puppy, named Mercy, died Sunday despite efforts to save her from extensive injuries. She had been cut, stabbed, doused with gasoline and set afire, police said.

On April 13, witnesses saw Mercy, ablaze, running through the parking lot of a north Dallas apartment complex. The witnesses extinguished the flames by dousing her with beer, police reports said.

The witnesses told police that the dog belonged to Brown, who was questioned a short time later.

He told police "he was attempting to grill on his patio when his dog, 'Brandy' - a pit bull mix - accidentally bumped (the) grill and ignited herself," the reports stated.

In succeeding days, however, witnesses told a much different story to police and animal control officers.

A woman said Brown wanted his dog to mate with hers, but that his dog "would not cooperate." She told Brown to remove his dog and he became angry and repeatedly kicked his dog as they were leaving, the reports said.

The woman followed Brown "at a distance and next observed his dog to have cuts (and) stab wounds."

Another man said saw Brown's dog on fire and running through the parking lot; he later saw Brown carrying a gas can, the reports said.

The dog had burns over 60 percent of her body, and she was turned over to Operation Kindness, a non-profit shelter in Carrollton that tries to find homes for abandoned or abused animals.

Officials interviewed Brown again April 17, and he told them that he lied to them about the grilling incident four days earlier. Brown then told them that "he owed money to two guys for an Xbox and they had retaliated by burning his dog," the reports said.

Witnesses called the media, accusing Brown of being a torturous thug and complaining that he wasn't swiftly arrested.

Kimbrough said police were working with animal control officers to develop the case against Brown.

She said undercover officers from the North Central Deployment Division obtained a warrant for Brown's arrest and set up surveillance on several North Texas locations he was known to visit.

Included was his mother's home in Corinth. The officers saw him driving from there shortly after midnight Thursday, and they followed him, Kimbrough said.

Patrol officers from the Corinth Police Department stopped Brown for a traffic violation and turned him over to the undercover officers, Kimbrough said.

He was subsequently placed in the Lew Sterrett Justice Center and charged with animal cruelty, a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in jail, plus possible fines up to $10,000. Bail is $50,000, Kimbrough said.

This asshole was indicted on a third degree felony charge by the Dallas County Grand Jury and goes to trial April 23, 2007. I hope he gets the maximum 10year sentence and $50,000 fine. Thank heavens he will never be allowed to own another animal as a result of this conviction; however, unless there is someone enforcing it, a piece of paper will do nothing to stop him or others like him.