Nevada Teen Allegedly Beat Puppy To Death Over Chewed Shoes

A Las Vegas teenager was accused Monday of beating his puppy to death over chewed shoes. The Nye County Sheriff’s Office charged a 17-year-old boy with animal cruelty after they responded to a call at a Pahrump, Nevada home Monday afternoon.

At approximately 12:40 p.m., a police officer arrived to assist an Animal Control officer at the home, reported NBC-affiliate KSNV Thursday.

The Animal Control official said the teen was holding a limp pit bull puppy that appeared dead. The teenager told officials that he woke up to find his puppy had chewed his new shoes. He allegedly used the shoes to beat the puppy and threw one of the shoes at the puppy and before kicking it.

The necropsy revealed the puppy’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest. The teenager was taken into custody by a juvenile probation officer.

Nevada has anti-cruelty statutes that outline the defining aspects of animal cruelty in the state. According to Chapter 574.100, “overdriving, torturing, injuring or abandoning animals; failure to provide proper sustenance; requirements for restraining dogs and using outdoor enclosures” is forbidden. If someone is witnessing an animal be harmed, they can still be prosecuted for animal abuse.

“A person shall not torture or unjustifiably maim, mutilate or kill: any animal kept for companionship or pleasure, whether belonging to a person or to another; or any cat or dog,” according to the statute’s chapter.

On June 10, 2011, Cooney’s Bill was signed into Cooney’s Law, making animal cruelty a felony on the first offense in Nevada. Prior to this law, a person in Nevada could torture an animal to death three separate times before facing a felony animal cruelty charge. The law also allowed for confidential reporting of suspected animal abuse.

Cooney’s Law was passed after a Reno man killed his dog, Cooney, in fall 2010. He cut Cooney with a box cutter and watched her run around the room bleeding. Her intestines fell out and she died of shock and blood loss. The man pled guilty to the highest charge possible under Nevada’s then-current law: a misdemeanor. He paid a fine and used credit instead of serving time in jail.

Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) worked with Nevada Voters for Animals to pass Cooney’s Law.

Further details on the killing of the pit bull puppy were not immediately available.