Parker the dog (Photo from The Oliver Firm)
A lawsuit alleges a deputy in Missouri “executed” a beloved family dog named Parker and tossed his carcass in a ditch in a “senseless and illegal killing” after the 9-year-old Labrador mix got lost in a storm in August.
The lawsuit filed by Bryan and Tylla Pennington on Tuesday in federal court accuses a deputy with the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Office of shooting the dog on Aug. 27 after responding to a call of a lost dog in Dexter, Missouri.
“It’s absolutely unconscionable,” attorney Russ Oliver told the Riverfront Times.
The lawsuit names Sheriff Carl Hefner, the deputy, Rodger Seal, and his supervisor, Travis Maddox.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment from Law&Crime.
The lawsuit, obtained by Law&Crime, outlines what happened the day Parker wandered off from the Penningtons’ home when a storm hit Stoddard County. Parker — an old rescue — became disoriented and was discovered at the home of a neighbor, about a mile from the Pennington home.
The neighbor found Parker lying on an elevated bench on her porch. She did not know who Parker belonged to, so she posted a message on Facebook in the hopes of finding his owners and called the Stoddard County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Seal responded, took Parker, placed him in his patrol vehicle and drove away.
On his supervisor’s instructions, Seal drove Parker to the Otter Slough Conservation Area. There, the deputy opened his car door. Parker jumped out and ran up and down a ditch bank several times. Seal called to Parker. When the dog came to him, Seal shot him with his service pistol. Parker did not immediately die, and Seal allegedly dragged the dog on the ground before taking aim a second time.
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“Defendant Seal did not humanely kill Parker as Parker laid suffering for 8 minutes after he was shot the first time before Defendant Seal shot Parker a second time killing him,” the lawsuit alleges.
“After finally killing Parker, defendant Seal threw Parker’s lifeless body in a ditch,” court documents said.
The lawsuit says Seal’s “senseless and illegal killing of Parker” and the “torture consciously inflicted” by him violated state law.
Bryan Pennington told St. Louis FOX affiliate KTVI that when he inquired about the shooting, an officer told him, “We don’t have any way of taking care of a dog.”
Pennington aired his grievances with the sheriff’s department in a Facebook post.
“Parker showed no aggression towards him or anyone during this,” the station reported. “I saved Parker from being shot nine years ago in Doniphan, Missouri, because the guy couldn’t afford to feed him.”
The sheriff and the Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney called for investigations into the killing. Seal was terminated after an internal probe found he didn’t act appropriately during the performance of his duties. Maddox was reprimanded, placed on unpaid administrative leave, and demoted from his position as a corporal for not properly supervising Seal or offering proper guidance while handling the call, the Sheriff said.
The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount for injuries, including infringements and deprivations of their constitutional rights, the loss of Parker and his companionship, great fear for Parker’s safety, pain of the mind as well as the body and loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of faith in society.
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