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Neighbor complained that dog chased his chickens

Hill – The man suspected in the death of Penny, a 6-pound Jack Russell terrier mix, turned himself over to police yesterday and was charged with cruelty to animals, a Class A misdemeanor, in the shooting death of the dog, Hill police said.

Michael J. Donato, 52, of Currier Hill Road, had previously complained about the dog coming onto his property and chasing his chickens, said Merrimack County Attorney Dan St. Hilaire.

Donato, who is free on his own recognizance, did not return a reporter's phone call yesterday.

Penny was found dead Friday night of wounds that her owners - Kyle and Kirsten MacArthur - had initially said appeared to have come from an arrow. But police said their investigation showed that Penny died from a single gunshot fired by Donato.

A truck driver, Donato, 52, was pulled over Friday by Bristol police and charged with driving while intoxicated. Kyle MacArthur, who was following behind Donato before he was arrested, had asked police to check Donato's truck because he believed that Donato had his dog.

But police had to wait until Donato gave them permission to search the truck or they had obtained a warrant, said St. Hilaire.

MacArthur said that when he was able to retrieve his dog's body Friday night, he found Penny stuffed head first into a plastic bag and that she had entry and exit wounds. He took photos of the wounds.

The last time Penny was seen alive by the family was about 3:30 p.m. Friday, when Kirsten's mother, Kathy Tremblay of Bow, let Penny out the rear door of the home. Tremblay had been babysitting for Dylan, 3, and Aidan, 20 months old, while their mother ran some errands.

After Kirsten returned home, Tremblay took Dylan for a walk in the woods. When she returned, she told her daughter she had heard what sounded like a dog in distress.

When Kyle MacArthur came home from work, he searched for Penny along the road. He said he then went to Donato's home, where he asked about Penny and told Donato he was going to be putting up a fence over the weekend to keep the dog in the back yard.

He said Donato responded, "It's too late,'' which made MacArthur think something had happened to Penny, and Donato knew about it.

When Donato left in his pickup truck, MacArthur followed in his SUV and called police to tell them he suspected Donato was intoxicated. In the meantime, Kirsten had called Hill police and was interviewed at home about the situation by Police Chief Donald Sullivan.

The MacArthurs say Sullivan later questioned Donato at the Bristol police station about Penny's fate.

"We're hoping to see justice done. Penny didn't deserve to die like she did,'' said Kirsten MacArthur.

Donato is due to be arraigned in Franklin District Court on Jan. 22. Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact poilce at 934-6437.