Judge Adler expresses dissatisfaction with law governing ruling in pastor's killing of dog

GIRARD

Judge Jeffrey Adler of Girard Municipal Court has ordered Pastor David W. Murphy of Vienna to pay his neighbor, the owner of a black Labrador retriever named Tucker, $800 in damages for killing the dog.

But in his judgment entry, the judge again mentioned his dissatisfaction with the law governing the killing of such animals, saying his “hands are tied” by it.

“The killing of poor Tucker seems like such a senseless act,” the judgment entry says. “It is hard for one to fathom that in an attempt to simply scare the young pup, the defendant accurately hit him with three out of four shots.

“However, the Ohio Legislature has deemed it appropriate for persons to freely kill dogs that trespass upon their land as long as they submit payment of damages to the local court of jurisdiction within 15 days of the killing. The defendant has abided by the statute.”

Kimberly Ellis of Warren-Sharon Road, Tucker’s owner, said after reading the judge’s comments: “I’m grateful for [the judge’s] opinion that [Murphy] did it in a mean way, but there he walks, free and clear.”

The judge’s order followed an April 1 hearing during which Ellis testified as to the events of Oct. 24, when the dog wandered away from her large property while she was working outside.

While looking for Tucker, she heard four gunshots and three “yelps” that she thought came from Tucker, then found him about an hour later near Murphy’s home on nearby Niles Vienna Road.

A veterinarian later said the dog had been hit by three gunshots, one of which severed his spine. She had the dog euthanized.

Read more about the case in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.