Man ‘cooked his Chihuahua puppy to death in oven because it wouldn’t stop barking’
A man allegedly stuffed his Chihuahua puppy in an oven and cooked it to death because it was barking too much.
James Williamson, 44, got into an argument with a family member and threatened to put the small dog in a hot oven if it did not quiet down, according to Sergeant Darrell McMann of the Atmore Police Department.
Williamson is accused of putting the pup in the oven, turning it on and placing a chair in front of the appliance to secure the door.
Neighbors reported hearing yelps coming from inside the home on Cruitt Drive in Atmore, Alabama, on May 19 and called cops.
McMann said he arrived to find a dead Chihuahua on the driveway with serious burn marks.
‘I have a Chihuahua myself,’ McMann told WALA.
‘When I got there, I was just at a loss for words, you know, I really was just stood there and looked at the dog for a little bit and had to get myself together.’
Williamson has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty. It is a Class C felony, which is the second lowest level of felony in the state. His bond has been set at $15,000, and he will not be allowed to own animals if he is convicted.
McMann said tougher laws should be in place for crimes as horrific as this.
‘I think in cases like this, they should be strengthened, because I don’t think being a Class C felony fits what he did,’ McMann said.
‘That pretty much describes what he did: horrible and inhumane.’
Atmore is about 50 miles northeast of the port city of Mobile on the Gulf Coast.
The dog was killed more than seven years after a South Korean farmer allegedly became annoyed that his neighbor’s dog was constantly barking, and killed and cooked the pup and invited its owner over for dinner to eat it.
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