MADISON COUNTY, IL (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
A man in Madison County, Illinois, has touched off a storm of concern after killing his own dog. Sheriff detectives say they may turn the matter over to a grand jury. But, so far, no charges have been filed. FOX 2's John Auble has the story of what may or may not have been a mercy killing. The dog's owner (who asked not to be identified), says his dog was suffering for several weeks. So, as a last resort, he said he pumped three shots from a handgun into the dog's brain and heart. Death, he tells me, was instantaneous and was one of the toughest things he ever had to do.
The dog was a 3-year-old St. Bernard named "Max."
Retired mail carrier Frank Heuneger, who lives next door, said the owner tried to sell the animal before it became ill, "They've been wanting to find a new home for that dog, see. They advertised it."
Heuneger noticed that his neighbor and a woman were digging recently in the back of his lot near Moro, Illinois.
Auble: "Were they digging a grave?" Frank: "Yeah. That's what they'd been doing." Auble: "Was the dog buried in that backyard?" Frank: "I assume that it is."
The owner led investigators to the grave. At the direction of the Madison County Sheriff's Department, the dog's carcass was exhumed. An necropsy is planned to determine if the dog was indeed ill.
Madison County law varies on putting down your own animals, all based on individual circumstances.
The owner says Max suffered several seizures in the past couple of weeks and was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from the nose.
The owner grew up on a farm in southwest Missouri and said he had been taught to handle situations like this in this fashion, "I did the right thing. I don't feel a bit guilty about it."
The owner says Max began getting sick shortly after he received a rabies shot. He says he lacked the funds to take the dog back to the vet for any treatment that might have been necessary.
The dog was a 3-year-old St. Bernard named "Max."
Retired mail carrier Frank Heuneger, who lives next door, said the owner tried to sell the animal before it became ill, "They've been wanting to find a new home for that dog, see. They advertised it."
Heuneger noticed that his neighbor and a woman were digging recently in the back of his lot near Moro, Illinois.
Auble: "Were they digging a grave?" Frank: "Yeah. That's what they'd been doing." Auble: "Was the dog buried in that backyard?" Frank: "I assume that it is."
The owner led investigators to the grave. At the direction of the Madison County Sheriff's Department, the dog's carcass was exhumed. An necropsy is planned to determine if the dog was indeed ill.
Madison County law varies on putting down your own animals, all based on individual circumstances.
The owner says Max suffered several seizures in the past couple of weeks and was foaming at the mouth and bleeding from the nose.
The owner grew up on a farm in southwest Missouri and said he had been taught to handle situations like this in this fashion, "I did the right thing. I don't feel a bit guilty about it."
The owner says Max began getting sick shortly after he received a rabies shot. He says he lacked the funds to take the dog back to the vet for any treatment that might have been necessary.
