Two Convicted of Cruelty for Killing Dog

T A C O M A, Wash., Sept. 2, 2004 -- Two men who claimed they merely put a stray dog out of its misery were found guilty today of felony animal cruelty for tying the animal to a tree and shooting it repeatedly with a bow and arrow until it died.

The two Wilkeson men — one of them the son of the mayor — were convicted of killing the Siberian husky on March 8. Wilkeson is located about 20 miles southwest of Tacoma.

Witnesses said Stephen Paulson, 21, the son of Mayor Doug Paulson, and Troy Loney, 19, tied the stray dog to a tree and repeatedly shot it with a bow and a single arrow, pulling the arrow out and using it again and again, until the dog died, according to court documents.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas Felnagle said the men were inconsistent and lacked credibility in their explanation of why they killed the dog. They could face up to a year behind bars when sentenced Oct. 1.

A school janitor who said he witnessed the killing said the two fired an arrow aboutnine times, pulling it out of the wounded animal to use it again and again.

But when Loney took the stand later, he said he shot the dog only once, after Paulson had done the same, according to The News Tribune of Tacoma. He added that they used separate arrows, and that the blue-eyed dog died quickly.

He also said they shot the dog only after trying multiple ways to find it a home, including leaving it tied outside the fire station and giving it to some kids who later brought the animal back, the paper reported.

"We decided to put it down with a bow and arrow — that's all we had," Loney said. "We thought it was most humane, rather than smashing its head with a rock."

Judge: Prosecution Must Prove Intent

The case brought animal rights activists converging on Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma.

"We want to see jail time in this case," Susan Michaels of Pasado's Safe Haven, an animal rescue organization, said before the trial. "It's the least of what these two guys deserve for what they put this dog through."