A Florida man argued with his fiancée. So, police say, he shot their two dogs
A DeLand man shot one of the dogs he shared with his fiancée, tried to get his teenage son to shoot the second dog, then shot the dog himself when his son refused, Volusia County sheriff’s deputies said.
William Petty’s ex-wife and 16-year-old son reported him to the sheriff’s office on Saturday. Petty’s fiancée provided deputies with a sworn written statement.
After his Sunday arrest in Port Orange, Petty remains a guest of Volusia County Corrections on two counts of felony cruelty to animals, two counts of unlawful disposal of a dead domesticated animal, one count of child abuse, and one count of carrying a concealed weapon in the commission of a felony.
Father, son, dog, gun
Petty’s son woke up Saturday morning at the home of his father and Melinda Poskas. Petty reacted to an early morning argument, his son said, by saying they were going to Lowe’s Home Improvement. They brought along the dogs, a female Catahoula mix and a male Dachshund.
Instead of going to Lowe’s, Petty’s son said, they went to some woods about three miles away. Petty, his son and the dogs got out of the truck and Petty soon pulled out his gun, which the son described as a silver revolver with a black handle.
Petty shot the female dog in the head, then handed the gun to his son, according to deputies. The son said he was nervous, so he shot the gun into the ground and handed it back to his father. Petty shot the male dog in the head, the son said, then tossed both about 10 feet away. That’s where, the affidavit says, deputies found the dogs.
“William never made an attempt to bury the deceased dogs,” the affidavit says.
Father and son went to Lowe’s, but upon returning home, the son headed for his girlfriend’s nearby house and asked his mother to pick him up there. Once his mother saw her shaken son, she called the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, the affidavit said, Poskas woke up to a house with two fewer dogs. Petty insisted the dogs must have run away. One of Poskas’ friends told her one dog had been found in the woods. Though Petty denied having anything to do with that, Poskas left the house and called VCSO.
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