New Jersey Man Found Guilty Of Shooting Family Dog With Arrow

David Moors, 39, of Beachwood, N.J. has been found guilt of felony aggravated cruelty to animals after he shot and killed a family dog named “Clara” with a bow and arrow — allegedly in front of a little girl from the dog’s family. Moors opted for a non-jury trial, but it did not help. County Judge Donald A. Williams called the act a “reprehensible” crime done with intent and “without justification.” He faces a maximum sentence of up to two years.

The killing occurred in a residential neighborhood when Moors was deer hunting on his sister’s property. Clara was let out when Chris Palinka was cutting wood and asked one of his kids to go inside and retrieve his gloves. Clara ran out and the family says that their 8-year-old daughter witnessed the killing and is haunted by the tragedy. Clara, a shepherd-terrier mix, was a 2 1/2 years old when she was killed.

Moors was also originally charged with hunting deer with bait but that charge was dropped.

In court, Moors claimed that he thought “Clara” was feral and that he was therefore justified in killing her. However, the family said that Clara was only outside for nine minutes when Moors killed her and that when he argued with her owners after the killing he insisted that the dog was killed as a trespasser on his sister’s property and “shouldn’t be running loose.”

The Court rejected the feral claim and said that it “has an unwavering belief that the intentional act of killing a dog in the manner that this death occurred, without justification, is reprehensible.”

Source: Daily Freeman