Man charged with cutting 5 dogs throats
:mad: :mad: :mad:
http://channels.aimtoday.com/crime/s...43.htm&sc=1110
Man Charged With Cutting 5 Dogs' Throats
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - A man was arrested on charges that he slashed the throats of five dogs in what his son said was an attempt to win sympathy from his estranged wife.
Gary John Martin, 50, denied wrongdoing after being arrested on animal cruelty charges Wednesday. ``This is devastating. These dogs are my kids,'' he said.
The bloody dogs - four cocker spaniels and a miniature Doberman pinscher - were discovered in Martin's home last Friday by a neighbor. The animals are expected to recover.
As sheriff's deputies showed up, Martin arrived home from work and collapsed in the front yard, crying, ``My babies, my babies, my babies,'' neighbor Joe Keough said.
Martin told neighbors that someone broke into his house, injured the dogs and wrote threats on a mirror in lipstick. Sympathetic acquaintances mowed his lawn and brought him pasta and sausage for dinner.
Martin's son said he may have hurt the dogs in an attempt to woo his estranged wife, who always thought he loved his dogs too much.
``It's sick,'' said Tim Martin. ``But I think he was trying to get her back.''
Neighbors were saddened by the arrest.
``That guy should win the Oscar,'' neighbor Bill Collins said. ``We stood by his side, and then found out that he did it.''
Four of the dogs belong to Martin and one belongs to a neighbor. The dogs will be put up for adoption once they are healthy, said Beth Lockwood, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Largo.
