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Police investigate Pflugerville dog shooting

12:14 PM CDT on Thursday, July 28, 2005
By KEVIN PETERS / KVUE News

Homeowners in one Pflugerville neighborhood are outraged after a nearby
homeowner allegedly shot and killed a neighborhood dog while it sat
inside its backyard.

Investigators say the dog was shot once in the neck with a .22 caliber
pistol, and now the dog's owner says she wants justice.

When Melissa Ortiz arrived home on July 15, the first thing she did was
check on her 5-year-old dog, Orion, chained in the back yard.
"As I opened the back blinds to my door, I was face to face with a man
that yelled at me to get out of my house," she said.

Ortiz says Norris Cole proceeded to tell her a story of how he chased a
robber into her backyard. After she called police, she says the truth
came out.

"Found out that it was him that shot my dog after finding the gun on
him," Ortiz said.
Investigators say it was a .22 caliber pistol.

Cole had apparently placed the border collie-lab mix in trash bags and
had already carried him out to his truck when the story unfolded.

"I was very upset," Ortiz said. "I really miss him a lot. It's not the
same without him."

After questioning, deputies say Cole said that he was tired of the dog
constantly barking.
Just on the other side of Ortiz's fence is the Plantation House, an
upscale home rented out year round to host private weddings.
It's also the home of Cole, who valued peace and quiet for his family's
business.

Cole's attorney, Jamie Balagia, issued a statement saying "Norris Cole
deeply regrets the mistake he made. The action taken is not who he is.
He is cooperating with law enforcement and is getting the counseling
that is needed."

Many neighbors who live on the Pflugerville street say they are
frightened.

"We don't come out here anymore because we don't feel safe. It's bad,"
Ortiz said. "If we go outside we go in the front yard."

KVUE's report
Cole faces one count of animal cruelty, a state jail felony, and
criminal trespassing.

His attorney says he's received dozens of e-mails and phone calls
threatening his family.
He hopes those come to an end.

Meanwhile, ATF investigators said Cole had some sort of silencer or
flash suppressor on the gun, which could be illegal.

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/07 ... d14c9.html

Way over the top. This certainly wasn't the solution to a noise problem. He misused the wrong tool for the job.

Hopefully gunowners won't be painted with same broad brush when viewing the actions of this misguided person.

Suppressed or unsuppressed pistol doesn't matter. How much noise he made committing his deed shouldn't even be an issue.

In my book this one is a toughy. The gun owner was wrong but on the other hand a constantly barking dog can drive you crazy. I seen dog owners who let their dogs bark all day long and do nothing about it. Some gun owners shouldn't own guns and some dog owners shouldn't own dogs.

I have a lot of experience with a dangerous dog living in my neighborhood, but I just can't see shooting a barking dog.

If you can't get things worked out with the owner, the next step is to file one or more complaints.

There's a big difference between a plain flash suppressor and unregistered 'silencer'... Like 5 years in federal prison or something like that :)

The man went into a fenced yard and shot a dog that was chained. This is completely unacceptable. His excuse that the dog barks a lot is worthless. I hope he moves to concrete suite with bubba real soon.

HighVelocity wrote:The man went into a fenced yard and shot a dog that was chained. This is completely unacceptable. His excuse that the dog barks a lot is worthless. I hope he moves to concrete suite with bubba real soon.

jail time for killing a dog?

A dog is property, there should be a monetary fine or possibly community service.

That being said, I think I will point out that I love dogs. I can't see killing a dog for excessive barking and I think the man was definitely in the wrong for this.

I would be willing to bet there was a history of bad blood between these two neighbors and this incident was merely the last in a game of one-upmanship.
Too bad the dog got caught in the middle of a bad situation between two adults.

tehlump wrote:
jail time for killing a dog?

Yep.

He used a firearm in the commission of several other crimes (trespassing, property destruction, UCW, etc.)

Residence in the Iron Bar Hotel sharing a suite with ole' Ben Dover is almost too good for a dirt ball like that.

tehlump wrote:

HighVelocity wrote:The man went into a fenced yard and shot a dog that was chained. This is completely unacceptable. His excuse that the dog barks a lot is worthless. I hope he moves to concrete suite with bubba real soon.

jail time for killing a dog?

A dog is property, there should be a monetary fine or possibly community service.

I disagree. I think jail time is totally warranted in this situation. If the dog was attacking he or his family it would be different, but this guy went onto someones property and shot & killed a dog that was properly secured.

I'm a dog guy, but I wouldn't consider my dog freak. I know that some people think of dogs as members of their family.

The jerk that shot that lady's dog should be locked up.

dws1117 wrote: His attorney says he's received dozens of e-mails and phone calls threatening his family.

I have never understood why some people get more upset about dogs and cat than human children.

This guy really messed up but why threaten his family for it.

There are nuts out there who will make threats no matter what the news is about.

As for jail time... this was trespass (he crossed a fence) and theft (of the dog). Not to mention discharging a firearm and possibly possessing an unregistered suppressor.

The dog owner certainly has civil recourse, as well. Living in the same neighborhood, how could she feel safe? The traumatic loss of a beloved pet, the shock of confronting an armed man outside her door... that's the kind of thing contingency lawyers love.

No offense, Charles. Lawyers do have their uses! :D

Kevin

XD_Dan wrote:

tehlump wrote:

HighVelocity wrote:The man went into a fenced yard and shot a dog that was chained. This is completely unacceptable. His excuse that the dog barks a lot is worthless. I hope he moves to concrete suite with bubba real soon.

jail time for killing a dog?

A dog is property, there should be a monetary fine or possibly community service.

I disagree. I think jail time is totally warranted in this situation. If the dog was attacking he or his family it would be different, but this guy went onto someones property and shot & killed a dog that was properly secured.

I'm a dog guy, but I wouldn't consider my dog freak. I know that some people think of dogs as members of their family.

The jerk that shot that lady's dog should be locked up.

Sorry, I should have clarified my thoughts.

I was only referring to the shooting of the dog. Like I said, a dog is property and the owner should be compensated.

The crimes of trespassing and others should receive the attention they deserve.

If I found a man in my backyard with a pistol, he'd be lucky to get out alive...especially if I saw that he had shot my dog. I would imagine the first thought I would have would be to think that he was shutting my dog up in preparation to invade my home.

tehlump wrote:If I found a man in my backyard with a pistol, he'd be lucky to get out alive...especially if I saw that he had shot my dog. I would imagine the first thought I would have would be to think that he was shutting my dog up in preparation to invade my home.

Our dogs sleep inside, so I'd have to open the door first. And if I did, he'd find himself with a chihuahua/pomeranian attached to his ankle, a standard poodle sniffing him for potential treats, an Australian Shepherd/German Shepherd threatening to rip his face off (but she's 12 and more bark than bite), and a very shy border collie mix doing her best to avoid contact. But the BC, if she gets cornered (if I'm not here to hide behind), is the most likely to go psycho-effin-nuts and create a very messy crime scene. And then she'd come cower behind me.

As an aside, two critter lovers shouldn't marry. It can lead to four dogs in the house, three cats in the yard (plus one in the garage who has adopted us and fails to understand that he doesn't live here), a tank of fish, a turtle, and a ferret.

Kevin

I hate to derail the thread, but I guess it hasn't received any attention in a while anyway! :D

I have a shy border collie mix also! I think she's BC and weimeraner, but we're not sure. She's very smart and probably the best dog I've ever had. However, she is very exciteable and timid or submissive.

I have to be careful how I correct her...if I speak loudly enough she cowers like I beat on her. Her only downfall is when she initially greets us. She goes nuts barking and whining. I normally don't pay her any attention for the first 10 minutes or so when I get home, she's slowly learning the lesson that being quiet pays off!

Does your dog like fetching? Mine will run herself to death playing catch with frisbees or tennis balls!

I like dogs better than most humans. No offense, fellow packers.

Tehlump, I am a Weimaraner person, and I do not see any Weim in your dog. Ears too pointed like a Doberman. My last Weim friend was a 95 lb male. None of the personality traits you list describes Weimaraners. My friend was loyal, fearless, intelligent, persistent, agressive when he needed to be, and sweet as a baby when he was around friends. When I left the house, no one was going to enter the house. The wife was as safe as safe could be. STamina to hunt all day long. The breed is third fastest in canine world, clocked at 38 mph.

Pack dogs should cower when fussed at. It is a pack thing. You are the alpha male. Just looking at the dogs wrong should make them cower if the pack order is established.

I've never owned weimeraners before. The breeder we got Bailey from breeds Border Collies. Bailey's mother slipped out one day while in heat and was seen, *ahem*, copulating with what was described as a short haired, lean, grey hunting dog. We assumed weimeraner...maybe not, maybe the daddy was a mutt as well. Who knows?!

Bailey has enormous stamina, she is lightning quick and very fast. I'll see if I can find a full body picture.

As far as pack order is concerned, there is no doubt I'm the alpha male. I didn't mean to insinuate that I was displeased with her behavior, it's just that she is extremely submissive. Her personality is one that lends itself to being submissive.

I have a friend with 2 dogs. 1 is a 150lb rottweiler and the other is an abused stray. This friend has a 2 yr old boy and his wife living with him.
The rott runs the house. He is a sweet dog, but they have no control over him. When he was young, he was never taught to respect the humans of the house, now, when corrected he growls at them...I believe it's a dangerous situation. I was watching a football game at his house once and the rott was corrected for something. The rott growled at his owner. The owner tried to grab his collar and put him outside, the dog snapped at him!
Then and there was the time to kick that dog's ass...my buddy didn't do anything. He left the dog alone and sat back down to watch the game! I told him he needed to do something and my buddy said he would just leave him alone...'he'll be allright'.

The Rott's favorite trick is to run into people to show dominance. He now knows better than to do it with me. I'm 6'1" and 225lbs...a solid knee to his chest and he straightens up fast!

I guess that story illustrates perfectly my feelings about dogs. I love dogs, I can't imagine not having a good dog around, but they're not people. They are animals pure and simple. My dog is treated as such and because of that she is a welcome member of my family (pack)
My friends treat their dogs as people and as such the dogs run the house. The Rott believes that he is the alpha male of the house and as such the rott makes the rules!