Charge Man For Shooting Dog and Hiding It Rather Than Calling Authorities!

  • by: SUE LEE
  • recipient: Saugus, MA Law Enforcement and Judicial System

Please sign and share this petition in an effort to make a statement and get this man accountable for how he handled what some say was an aggressive dog. Even after he was found guilty of the shooting a bulldog for allegedly attacking two children, the judge set him free without any repercussions. He may have been in his right to protect children if he felt they were in danger from an aggressive animal by getting authorities involved but how he handled the situation was extremely inhumane.

Mr. Richard C. Maltais, 50 from Saugus, MA plead not guilty to killing a dog brutally, among other charges such as two counts of possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card, possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card and discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building. The man claims that the dog in question has been a problem and claims the dog was attacking some children. He went inside, got his gun and shot the animal in the head three times. He then proceeded to hide the animal, leaving it to die under his own deck.

Witnesses however claim that they heard the dog barking and then heard gunshots. One witness actually saw the man shoot the dog in the head. After the shots, the dog could be heard crying in agony and some additional shots until there was silence. When officers arrived on the scene, they were directed by these witnesses to Mr. Maltais' home. As it turns out, the man claims this was his dog and it allegedly began to attack two small children so he took the law into his own hands and shot the animal to death.

It appeared that some overnight guests of the home and in the morning a child was heard screaming. The child's dad noted the dog growling and just pushed the dog away from the children and reprimanded it. It is obvious this dog should not have been left alone with the children but Mr. Maltais decided to go one step further without saying a word, went into the home, got his gun and shot the animal; three times in the head! He proceeded to place the dog's body under his back deck where police found it with its horrible smell and an infestation of flies. One of the officers stated that the man was “remarkably calm for the scene and he showed no outward signs of emotion, even going to the point of offering me a water to drink."

This guy has had this gun for several years, supposedly due to an increase in gang issues in the area. He was told to get his ID card which he never did. I think it would be anyone's instinct to protect anyone in an attack situation and these kids should not have been left alone with the dog who had an uncertain personality. However, it appears that the dog was pushed away from the kids at which time the animal control and authorities should have been summoned in order to handle the animal in a more humane manner. There is no reason the dog had to be shot in the head to suffer, then multiple times and hide its body like a piece of trash!!

Please sign and share this petition in an effort to make a statement and get this man accountable for how he handled what some say was an aggressive dog. Even after he was found guilty of the shooting a bulldog for allegedly attacking two children, the judge set him free without any repercussions. He may have been in his right to protect children if he felt they were in danger from an aggressive animal by getting authorities involved but how he handled the situation was extremely inhumane.

 

Saugus, MA Law Enforcement and Judicial System - It is commendable that you at least took the firearms from this man, Mr. Richard C. Maltais, but he surely should not be free to walk around in society for what he did to this dog. According to several witnesses, the situation could have been handled in a more humane manner without shooting the animal in the head, three times, and then hiding the body under his deck like yesterday's trash! This dog, if it had an uncertain personality, should not have been left alone with these children but after it was pushed away from them, someone should have confined the dog and then summon authorities to handle the matter more humanely. This guy definitely crossed the lined and needs to be punished severely for animal cruelty, neglect and abuse!

Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.