Death Of Gizmo Is The Saddest Case Of Animal Torture You’ll Ever Read

Gizmo was a dog belonging to a couple living in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

In November 2014, Dana Gabbard, 26, called a suicide hotline and confessed that she was “feeling homicidal” toward her neighbor, according to a police report.

At that point, she admitted to shooting and killing Gizmo, but the facts of the case turned out to be much more horrifying than that simple confession.

Booked into the Washington County Detention Center, the full details of the case emerged when Joshua Gabbard, 33, filled in the blanks and told authorities about the shocking final moments of their family pet.

Joshua and his friend Corey Douthitt reportedly ended the dog’s life to put a stop to its misery caused at the hands of his wife.

Gabbard said that he and Douthitt had put the dog “out of his misery,” but the details they shared indicated they didn’t do a very good job of it.

According to the report, Dana started the torture by “slamming Gizmo down outside, whipping him with a braided leather belt and shooting him point blank with a BB gun,” 5NEWS reported.

From there, Joshua and Douthitt took over. Douthitt stated that the pair “took the dog outside to kill him” and that “Joshua Gabbard tried to smother Gizmo and then snapped his neck.”

Despite the injury, Gizmo was still alive, prompting Douthitt to suggest hitting Gizmo in the head with a shovel because that “would be more quiet than shooting it.”

Joshua nailed Gizmo over the head with the shovel “three or four times until the handle broke,” the warrant states.

Douthitt then went inside to find a box for burial and noticed the Gabbards’ four-year-old son had been watching both of them from the living room window.

The four-year-old later told police he’d witnessed his mother abusing the dog. He also stated that she and Joshua had put a leash on him and tied him to a stake outside their home.

A separate report from Fox16 notes that the Gabbards had two dogs they tortured including one dachshund, who survived. It wasn’t clear what breed that Gizmo was from the two reports.

Dana is facing charges of aggravated animal cruelty, cruelty to animals and second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor. Joshua is facing charges of aggravated animal cruelty and endangering the welfare of a minor.

Their four-year-old son was placed in the custody of his grandmother “over concerns of environmental neglect at the home” by the Department of Human Services. Both Joshua and Dana had marijuana in their system, and Joshua tested positive for methamphetamine use.

Do you think the Gabbards should be stripped of their parental rights, and concerning the death of Gizmo, what do you think the law should do to prevent animal abusers like these from owning animals in the future?