Police Charge 10-Year-Old Fort Worth Boy in Beating Death of Dog

    FORT WORTH, TX, May 20, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Fort Worth police department has charged a 10-year-old boy with delinquent conduct/animal cruelty/torture in connection with an incident that left a neighbor's dog dead. The dog, a Cavalier-mix named Cookie, was Jennifer Knittel's beloved pet.

The boy told Fort Worth police the dog had attacked him and that he hit it because he was angry. The dog's owner says that someone let both of her dogs out of her fenced backyard. The stick the boy used came from the owner's back yard.

"Cookie was affectionate and would never have hurt anyone," said Knittel, who adopted the dog five years ago from Cavalier Rescue USA.

The first witness saw the boy taunting Knittel's dogs but thought the dogs probably belonged to him. When she circled the block to check on the dogs, she saw the boy drop a stick as he came off the front porch where Cookie's motionless body lay.

When the witness confronted the boy, he told her the dog was sleeping and then fled. The witness followed him and was able to find out where he lived. The boy did not have a scratch, bite or mark on him, according to the same witness and to police.

A second witness saw the boy poking at Cookie with the stick while the dog was hiding under the car. A necropsy of Cookie done by animal control revealed that Cookie had a fractured skull and a severed spine and that he had suffered multiple blows.

"The best way to ensure that this case is prosecuted to the full extent of the law is for members of the public to demand it be," said Ron Sturgeon, President of RDS Investments, the company where Jennifer Knittel is an operations director.

In a recent Facebook post about Cookie, Sturgeon asked that those interested in justice for Cookie write to Riley Shaw, Chief Prosecutor in the Juvenile Unit of the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office to urge full prosecution. Shaw's office address is Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, 401 West Belknap, Fort Worth, TX 76196. Sturgeon has also asked supporters to call Shaw at 817-838-4613 and/or email him at [email protected] and to continue to check on the case weekly.

Sturgeon is also asking those interested to call or write to Child Protective Services (CPS). The CPS hotline is 1-800-252-5400 and their address is 6743 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Also, call (817) 989-3000 and ask for a full investigation of the family situation.

Over the last week, Cookie's story has attracted media coverage from several local television stations and national news outlets, such as the Huffington Post and USA Today. Sturgeon's Facebook posts about Cookie have been viewed more than 70,000 times and shared more than 17,000 times, but more is needed.

The parents of the boy delivered a note of apology to Knittel. The apology could have been a really positive first step for everyone, but it wasn't because the boy did not accept any responsibility for what he did to Cookie and the note appeared to Sturgeon to have been written by an attorney. "The note was painful to read," he said. The Dallas CBS affiliate posted the note on its site. To read it, visit https://goo.gl/T0er65.

Those who wish to get email updates on the story and scheduled hearings can register at http://www.SpoiledCavaliers.com/JusticeforCookie/.

Jennifer appreciates the offers to start a gofundme, but she isn't looking for money and believes the social media campaign has worked well thus far. She says that the media attention and sharing Cookie's story are working to get justice for Cookie and to help the boy and the parents be accountable and get the help they desperately need

CavalierRescueUsa.org, the rescue Cookie came from, has offered to help Jennifer get another dog. Anyone wishing to donate in memory of Cookie can give at their web page.

Knittel said she is grateful that so many people want to see that the person responsible for Cookie's death be held accountable. Knittel has asked any inquiries go to her friend Rodney Ross at (817) 320-7628 or [email protected].

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