State police: 12-year-old Pa. boy killed dog by injecting it with air

SAEGERTOWN, Pa. (AP) — State police plan to charge a 12-year-old northwestern Pennsylvania boy with stealing syringes from a neighbor, which the boy then used to kill the family dog by injecting air into its blood vessels.

Trooper Jason Domenick, of Meadville, says the boy’s family reported the incident Monday. The boy injected the Labrador mix, which became ill for a week before it died.

Air bubbles in a blood vessel can cause symptoms similar to a heart attack or stroke, and police say the Venango Township boy purposely injected the dog knowing what could happen.

Domenick says the investigation is continuing, but he expects to file charges of theft and cruelty to animals against the boy in Crawford County Juvenile Court.

The boy is not being identified because of his age.