This guy was accused by his girlfriend of killing the family dog and then hiding it in the ceiling tiles in their basement. I'm not so sure why people don't realize that eventually, that dog is going to start stinking and people are going to be on to you.
Anyway, I know a lot of people (not most of the people who spend time here) think that it's no big deal that Fluffy ended up dead...but I think that if this kid really killed the dog, the Czerniki family should be greatful that it was just their dog, and not their daughter -- there have been quite a few case studies that link animal abuse to future abuse of people. You can start reading about case studies here.
EEk. "Just" their dog? I'm sure you didn't mean it that way, did you?
And I have to say that in the photo of this psycho in the Star, his eyes looked almost exactly the same as the eyes of another local alleged killer. (Edwin Hall, who is accused of killing Kelsey Smith.) Really, almost identical.
Posted by: MDog | August 26, 2007 at 08:50 PM
I probably didn't mean it the way you took it...but they are lucky that this guy (allegedly) killed the dog first. People who can do this to an animal, are just as likely to do this to a person...and this guy was DATING THEIR DAUGHTER.
While losing the dog is horrible, I'm sure every person would trade that dog for the opportunity to find out what was really in that guy's character, vs waiting until he made their daughter into the next Kelsey Smith case...
Posted by: Brent | August 26, 2007 at 10:11 PM
Well, thanks to the "it's just a dog" attitude, I'm sure this guy will get off with little to no jail time, and will definitely go on to make someone else's daughter into the next kelsey Smith case.
Posted by: MDog | August 27, 2007 at 07:37 AM
Hopefully that isn't the case. My hope is that a lot of the recent events have caused people to look at animal cruelty as a much more severe crime than even a few months ago. Not only is animal cruelty a horrible crime, it also often serves as a gateway into other types of violent crimes.
I think people are finally starting to get that. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Posted by: Brent | August 27, 2007 at 08:59 AM
Really? Because I've heard the phrase "just a dog" so many times in the past week (including here, of all places) that I'm beginning to think that the word "dog" has three syllables.
Which is probably why I also read that, if found guilty, this psychopath COULD serve UP to a year in jail for this crime. And we all know what "up to a year" means in the American judicial system today. Little to no jail time, probably.
But after all, it's "just" a dog.
Posted by: MDog | August 28, 2007 at 06:46 AM
I guess that's the opposite of what the point of the post was -- but I understand where you're coming from. It's been really frustrating listening to how little value people place on animals -- whether it's some analysts talking about Mike Vick and saying "they're just dogs" or when talking about the Sunnyside Dog Park.
I will always value human life more than a dog's life...and my original point (although ineffectively communicated)was that any dude that is sick enough to just kill their family dog and stick it up in ceiling tiles would be just as likely to do that this family's daughter -- whom he was dating.
I don't think people get the connections between people who harm animals and the reality that abuse is abuse to them and that very often they cause great harm to people.
This alone should get people to care more about animal abuse -- if if they personally feel "they're just dogs".
For people who care about dogs, they already know how horrible him killing the dog is.
And just think, this wasn't even a felony in Kansas until last year.
Posted by: Brent | August 28, 2007 at 07:24 AM