Ypsilanti man charged with beating dog with hammer
An arrest warrant has been issued for an Ypsilanti man accused of beating and injuring his 19-pound dog with a hammer on April 1, Washtenaw County Court records show.
Shawn Terell Moore, 27, who lives on Green Road, is charged with animal torture and animal cruelty, records show.
Shadow is shown in this photo taken after he returned to the Humane Society of Huron Valley.
Photo courtesy of the Humane Society of Huron Valley
Moore, who is not in custody, could not be reached by AnnArbor.com today. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison.
Ypsilanti police say Moore beat his Jack Russell Terrier mix, “Shadow,” leaving him with cuts to his body, mouth and around his left eye. According to police, Moore told officers he was attempting to housebreak the roughly 18-month-old dog. It reportedly had an accident inside his apartment, police said.
Police say Moore gave that explanation after officers responded about 11:30 p.m. April 1 to a report that a man was kicking and beating a small white dog outside an apartment complex in the 800 block of Green Road.
Officers found the injured dog under a car and saw blood, a hammer and broom on the ground, police said. The dog was turned over to the Humane Society of Huron Valley. Moore had adopted it from the Humane Society several weeks earlier.
Matt Schaecher, supervisor of cruelty rescue for the Humane Society, could not be reached for comment today.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
Dr. Dave
Mon, May 17, 2010 : 12:57 a.m.
I can not stand to read articles like this, and did not read this one, although I know what it must have said. This article and so many like it are SO sad. Dogs are the most loving creatures on Earth. They just want to please their trusted "people". When some ogre abuses that trust, as this inhuman person apparently has, there is no punishment harsh enough. Mistreating a dog, to me, is as bad as mistreating a baby. Both are so innocent and only ask to be loved. What a horrible shame that this kind of thing goes on, with only a slap on the hand to the doers. Shame on us! It is my fervent hope that at some point our esteemed law makers see fit to treat this kind of thing as the unthinkable crime it is, and mandate the kind of punishment that actually fits the crime. Shadow, I'm SO sorry...
greymom
Sat, May 15, 2010 : 4 p.m.
This just breaks my heart- as one of my greyhounds is Shadow and I would hurt anyone that hurt one of my babies. I have been involved in greyhound rescue for sometime because of the aweful abuse at the track. They are crated 22 hours a day, given 3d meat-dead, dying and diseased meat. They cut the ears off so you can't identify the owner of the grey, dump them in the desert, and even simply shoot them. They found over 4,000 died greys on a mans property in Alabama, he was paid ten dollars a dog to shoot them. So, abuse is everywhere around us. so people really need to check everything out before letting someone adopt. If anyone is interested in adopting a greyhound- go to rescuedgreyhounds.com. They are amazing just as this poor boy Shadow is!! Find love in your heart for a fur friend!!
Danny
Sat, May 15, 2010 : 2:29 p.m.
Another sick seriously disturbed excuse for a human being. I hope he gets the full four years. This guy needs help before he graduates to human torture.
ShermanNC
Sat, May 15, 2010 : 8:20 a.m.
The perpetrator could not be reached?? No comment or anything he has to say would excuse this inhumane act. Wonder if he has children, partner, whatever, perhaps a cross check with DSS, Domestic Violence, court records, etc. should be applied when someone adopts an animal. It may not totally weed out the cretins, but it's a start.
Bear
Sat, May 15, 2010 : 3:13 a.m.
Ain't no cure for stupid. and if this guy couldn't find a more positive way to train a dog, well, THAT'S STUPID!
Patti Smith
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 8:29 p.m.
And I bet that Shadow will be a loving pet to whomever is lucky enough to get him. Dogs are amazing...the way they forgive and move on. So Ed, I can't say what punishment I think this guy deserves? :) Cuz I have a great idea of what to do to this guy! Interestingly, it involves a hammer....
Chris 8 - YPSI PRIDE
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 8:01 p.m.
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Did someone adopt this dog? If not I want him or her! How can I get this dog into MY GOOD HOME?
Susan S
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 7:58 p.m.
I have pets and they have had accidents in the house. I would never even think of beating them as punishment. What is wrong with people? How could anyone abuse a precious animal like that. If he decided he didn't want to care for the dog, he should have returned him to HSHV and I'm sure he would have been adopted into a loving home. Is Shadow ok, or does he have permanent injuries from being beaten with a hammer?
Lorrie Shaw
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 4:37 p.m.
Wow. I don't even know what else to say. I'm speechless. I was just putting together info for a blog on the topic of animal cruelty laws in MI and I guess the only way to really way to fix the problem of cruelty is fix the problems behind it. How do we achieve that? What's the solution to not having it happen in the first place? I hope that little defenseless, sweet, amazing Shadow finds a forever home this time. And, my best to the staff at the clinic HSHV for doing the work that they do when cruelty cases come in.
Blue Marker
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 3:16 p.m.
An "accident" inside is a very small price to pay for the unconditional love of a dog.
Angela
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 3:14 p.m.
"If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison." Really?! That's the maximum sentence he could get? People that are cruel to animals should get a much tougher sentence. I have zero tolerance towards people who do things like this. My apologies to you Mr Vielmetti for my advocating certain punishments. I did not realize that what I said was offensive... Thank you for the links. I am now wondering if (and how) those laws are enforced.
dading dont delete me bro
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 3:14 p.m.
with their extensive screening the humane society couldn't have seen this? we wanted to adopt a dog YEARS ago. we were to the point where we were going to pick it up the next day, but was turned down when hvhs heard that we were going to keep the dog outside. i'm just sayin'.
Freemind42
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 3:14 p.m.
This is terrible. What a disgusting excuse for a human being.
Deb Anderson
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 3:09 p.m.
Another senseless and sickening act of cruelty toward the one animal who will continue to love and trust us no matter what. It just never ends. We need stricter punishments for these people, they are the real animals.
Theresa Taylor
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 3:01 p.m.
Big Love to Shadow! I hope that this sweet little pooch finds a loving family very soon.
snoopjane
Fri, May 14, 2010 : 2:50 p.m.
Is he just now being arrested? Why wasn't he arrested that night?