Firefighter kills dogs to avoid kennel fees

By BRUCE CADWALLADER

The man bragged about killing the dogs after he disposed of their carcasses in a trash bin behind his fire station.

COLUMBUS — A Columbus firefighter admitted Wednesday to securing his two dogs in his basement and blasting them with a rifle so he and a girlfriend could vacation without paying to board the animals.

“He said chunks of concrete were flying everywhere,” Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather Robinson said.

“I think it was the thrill of the kill for him. He has shown no remorse for this.”

Firefighter David P. Santuomo, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of a criminal tool for taping a 2-liter plastic bottle onto the gun as a makeshift silencer.

He was convicted of “needlessly killing ... a companion animal” Dec. 3, according to the charges filed 10 minutes before the hearing in municipal court. One dog was shot six times in the head.

Santuomo, who did not apologize or give a statement in court, will spend 90 days in jail and pay $4,500 in restitution while serving five years’ probation, Judge Harland H. Hale ruled.

“This is a travesty and abhorrent behavior to those in this community who work to save the lives of animals,” said Jodi Buckman, executive director of the Capital Area Humane Society.

Santuomo adopted the dogs — both mixed breeds — from the humane society in January 2007.

Robinson said that Santuomo, of 2960 Essington Drive on the Northwest Side, bragged about killing the dogs to fellow firefighters after he disposed of the animals’ carcasses in a trash bin behind his workplace, Fire Station 27, 7560 Smoky Row Road.

“Fellow firefighters were disgusted by what he did, and the Capital Area Humane Society was called to investigate,” Robinson said.

In text messages, he lied to his children and ex-wife about what happened to Sloopy and Skeeter, investigators said.

Santuomo, a firefighter since 1996, remains on active duty while awaiting an internal disciplinary hearing with Fire Chief Ned Pettus Jr.

According to Robinson, Santuomo laid down a plastic sheet in his basement and tied the dogs to a pipe, partially suspending their bodies. He shot them at least 11 times.

At first, he said the dogs were suffering after drinking antifreeze, but a necropsy proved that he lied, Robinson said.

The humane society would have taken the animals if Santuomo had asked, and two neighbors had offered to watch the dogs in his absence, Robinson said.

In addition to the restitution for the costs of the investigation, Hale fined Santuomo $150 and ordered 200 hours of community service. He must not have pets or weapons in his house for five years and must undergo random home-inspections.

Hale agreed to allow him to serve his jail time in 10-day stints over two years.

Defense attorney Sam Shamansky said Santuomo will obey Hale’s order to file a formal apology with a national firefighters magazine and with a letter to readers of The Dispatch.

“This was an isolated event not to be repeated and totally out of character for him,” Shamansky said after the hearing. “He is extremely remorseful.”

In the courtroom, Santuomo raised a middle finger to members of the news media assembled to cover his case.

bcadwallader@dispatch.com