Boy Who Beat Dog To Death With Stick Gets Probation


An 11-year-old boy who beat his neighbor’s dog to death with a stick has been given the light sentence of probation, according to a report on The Dreamin’ Demon. The Fort Worth child rose to media headlines last May when news of his violent crime shook animal lovers everywhere. The violent ferocity of the attack the 15-pound Cavalier-Spaniel mix still has people on social media in shock, and that shock has only been heightened by news of the boy simply being given probation for his crime.

Last May, the unnamed child, at only 10-years-old at the time of the incident, reportedly beat the 15-pound dog to death with a stick. At the time his parents claimed to police that the dog attacked their son, and he was only trying to defend himself. However, witnesses in the neighborhood shut-down the parents’ attempt at covering for the lad when they revealed that he had actually chased down the innocent dog until it was cornered. It was then that he used a stick to batter the dog’s head and body until his spine snapped, which ultimately killed it. The dog was a beloved family member to owner Jennifer Knittel, who remains devastated by the violent death “Cookie” suffered.

The child entered a plea of “guilty” last month in court, in what appears to be part of a plea agreement, which evidently involved no jail time. It is being reported, however, that the child has a court-appointed psychiatrist, who summed up the boy’s apparent motive in the violent attack as being caused by “anger, resentment and envy” over his siblings and peers at school.

CBS News reports that the 11-year-old is to serve 18-months on probation — during which time he is expected to go through plenty of psychological therapy. The prosecutor in this case has stressed that he needs necessary treatment “for the best interest of the community.” Along with probation and psychological treatment, the 11-year-old dog killer must go through both individual and family group therapy. He is also ordered to serve 30 hours of community service (the type of which has not yet been clarified), and he is ordered to have no unsupervised contact with animals.

Do you think the Texas boy in this case was given too lenient of a sentence, or was the judge right to only give him probation in the violent beating death of his neighbor’s beloved dog?

[Photo: Cookie the dog/Courtesy of Jennifer Knittel via media reports]

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