Ten-Year-Old Boy Accused of Beating Neighbor's Dog to Death

    FORT WORTH, TX, May 26, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- "Cookie," a Cavalier mix owned by Jennifer Knittel, was found dead on a neighbor's porch. According to Dallas/Fort Worth Police, a 10-year-old boy entered Jennifer Knittel's backyard and chased Cookie out with a stick, eventually cornering him on a porch and then killing him.

While Knittlel says that the police are planning to file charges, a petition is circulating to ensure that charges are pressed.

Gilma Avalos, reporter with CBS of Dallas/Fort Worth, describes the series of events: the Knittels' 2 dogs, Cookie and another, had been left in their gated backyard, but when Jennifer Knittel returned home, the gate was open. Knittel believes that it's likely the boy let the dogs out.

A neighbor driving past saw the boy kicking at the Knittels' dogs as they hid under a neighbor's pick-up. She became suspicious. She drove around the block and came back to the boy. The neighbor asked, "Did you hurt that dog?" The boy replied, "No, it's sleeping."

The boys' parents have declined to speak with reporters, however; the boy told investigators that Cookie attacked him. Jennifer Knittel responded that "in the 5 years that we've owned Cookie, he hasn't so much as growled. My dog [Cookie] was not aggressive. The little boy has no scratches or marks of any kind on him."

Results from the necropsy on Cookie (performed by Fort Worth Animal Services) state that Cookie died from a blow to the head that cracked his skull and severed his spine.

Please sign and share the petition that urges authorities to press charges against the abuser. Currently, 7323 people have signed. 10,000 signatures are needed in total (so 2845 to go).

A series of Facebook posts about Cookie's death posted by Knittel's employer, Ron Sturgeon, have been viewed more than 70,000 times and shared thousands of times. The story has received national press coverage.

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