Hearing on pastor damages in dog shooting postponed to March 30

GIRARD

The hearing scheduled for today in Girard Municipal Court to determine “damages” owed by Pastor David Murphy of Vienna in the Oct. 24 shooting of his neighbor’s dog has been postponed to 1:30 p.m. March 30.

Court documents say the lawyer for the dog’s owner, Kimberly Ellis, requested a continuance of the hearing, and Judge Jeff Adler approved it Jan. 29.

Murphy admitted shooting near the dog but said he wasn’t aiming at it, saying the dog was acting menacingly toward his caged chickens.

Ellis, said she took the dog, named Tucker, to the veterinarian, who said the dog’s spine had been severed by the gunfire, so she had it euthanized.

A misdemeanor charge was filed against Murphy, but it was later dropped.