Pocono News Section

Animal Advocates Protest Dog Shooter

Animal Advocates Protest Dog Shooter - Monday, December 7, 2009 at 1:07PM EST

Reported by: Kyla Campbell
Monday, Dec 7, 2009 @ 01:07pm EST

WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY -- Animal advocates stated their case outside the Luzerne County Courthouse here Monday morning. They were upset with Arthur Menichini, the Pittston Township man who faces animal cruelty and other charges after shooting his neighbor's dog, a German shepherd named Kiera.

"We don't feel that somebody who shoots a dog in cold blood should get away with it," said Denise Kumor of Tracy's Hope.

Menichini told Eyewitness News this summer that Kiera attacked his mother's beagle mix several times. He showed us pictures of the alleged attack wounds. And when Kiera came towards Menichini and the beagle mix in April, he shot and killed her. His attorney tells us Menichini was licensed to carry a gun and had the right to shoot.

"None of us want to see a dog put down but none of us want to see a human being or another dog attacked repeatedly," Attorney John Terrana told us this summer.

Kiera's owners claim Menichini considered Kiera simply a nuisance, and that he killed the dog for no reason.

Menichini turned down a plea deal this summer. His attorneys hoped charges would be dropped today, but they've been continued. His case is set to be heard before a judge in January.