Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Toy poodle kicked by jogger, paralyzed

Toy poodle kicked by jogger, paralyzed
Edgewater, MD (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 26, 2006
County: Anne Arundel
Local Map: available
Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 1 files available

Person of Interest: John M. Shrewsbury

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 7145

Classification: Kicking/Stomping

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Animal was offleash or loose

Police are looking for a jogger who kicked a toy poodle so hard that it landed on the other side of the street, leaving it paralyzed.

The 9-year-old, 4.5-pound poodle named Jacquelyn was at a veterinary hospital in Annapolis on Jan 27, paralyzed from neck down. It is unclear if the paralysis is from structural damage or traumatic shock.

Witnesses told Anne Arundel County police the jogger kicked the dog three times after it ran up to him barking and nipping at his heels just before 9 a.m.

A tearful Janice Tippett, the poodle's owner, told The (Annapolis) Capital, "This guy is so bad. She did not deserve that. Neither me or her ever hurt anybody."

Tippett said she had opened the garage door to her townhouse just as the man jogged by and Jacquelyn ran out, barking.

Tippett said the man shoved Jacquelyn with his foot as the dog came up on his heels. Then he turned and kicked the animal, "... he stopped and did it again, this time 4 feet in the air and across the street."

Shirley Goodson, a hairdresser who works across the street, told The Capital, "I pulled into the parking lot just as the dog went flying in the air. It ... hit the ground and did not move, and that man did not stop, he kept on jogging."

A police spokesman said the man could face misdemeanor abuse of animal or criminal aggravated animal cruelty charges.

Case Updates

Janice Tippett had been informed that her neighbor, John Shrewsbury, could not be charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty because of a loophole in county law.
She has agreed to work with him and the legislature to close that loophole.

Update posted on Feb 11, 2006 - 4:14PM

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The miniature poodle that was kicked and subsequently paralyzed by a jogger Thursday morning is back home beginning her recovery.

Jacqueline the poodle ran out of the garage at the Landings at South River Colony and into the path of a jogger.

Eyewitnesses say the jogger kicked the dog three times, and with so much force that she landed across the street, paralyzed and unconscious. The jogger then continue to run off.

Saturday afternoon the jogger contacted the dog's after fliers were posted around the neighborhood searching for the culprit.

"I am the neighbor you are seeking regarding the dog. I apologize for your dog's injury," he said in a message. He then phoned police on Sunday.

"Whether or not his prevention of the attack rose to a criminal level is yet to be determined. But it's also important to remember there are laws in place to maintain custody of your animal on your property," says Anne Arundel County Police Sgt. Shawn Urbas.

Jacqueline's condition is improving, and although she still cannot walk, her doctors expect she will make a full recovery.

Source: WJZ - Jan 30, 2006
Update posted on Feb 1, 2006 - 12:48PM

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County police are considering whether to charge an Edgewater man who stepped forward to confess to his neighbor that he kicked and paralyzed her toy poodle last week.

A man who identified himself as John Shrewsbury of Westfield Court left a message on Janice Tippett's phone at 2:50 p.m. Saturday and admitted he was the man police were looking for.

Ms. Tippett called him back.

"I screamed, 'Why did you do it?' " she said this morning, explaining that she then threw the phone at her roommate because she couldn't stand to talk to him. "I can see his house from my house."

Ms. Tippett and her roommate, Margo Owen, took the answering machine tape to the county Police Department's Southern District headquarters in Edgewater and the man was interviewed yesterday.

Sgt. Shawn Urbas, police spokesman, didn't identify him because he hasn't been charged, saying only that he's a local man.

"We are determining what charges, if any, are appropriate," he said.

He could face misdemeanor abuse of an animal or criminal aggravated animal cruelty charges. The misdemeanor carries a maximum $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail; the more serious charge carries a $5,000 fine and up to three years in prison.

Reached by phone this morning Mr. Shrewsbury said, "I really don't have any comment to you. Thank you."

Just before 9 a.m. Thursday, a jogger kicked the 4.5-pound toy poodle named Jacqueline three times after it ran up to him, barking and nipping at his heels. The last kick sent the 9-year-old dog four feet in the air and across the street, rendering it unconscious.

Ms. Tippett doesn't think the police are taking her case seriously enough, pointing to the way she was treated at the police station.

"The smirk on the officer's face was very offending," she said. "I know there is a lot of crime out there. � But this is serious."

Lt. David Waltemeyer, another police spokesman, said, "Any time a citizen files a report, we take it seriously." He noted that officers are following up this case.

Meanwhile, Jacqueline is alert but still paralyzed.

"She's moving her feet slightly, but she still can't stand or walk," Ms. Tippett said through tears this morning. "She has a long way to go. She'll never be the same."

The dog is still recovering at the Chesapeake Veterinary Referral Center.

Source: Annapolis Capital - Jan 30, 2006
Update posted on Feb 1, 2006 - 12:41PM

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References

	NBC Channel 4 News - Jan 28, 2006
	Sun-Sentinel

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Toy poodle kicked by jogger, paralyzedEdgewater, MD (US)

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Toy poodle kicked by jogger, paralyzed
Edgewater, MD (US)