Kellys Malamute Shooting

HORROR IN THE KENTUCKY COUNTRYSIDE:
DOGS SHOT AND LEFT FOR DEAD IN THEIR FRONT YARD,County Deputy Sheriff laughs with the shooter down the road while hysterical dog owner tries to save her dogs                                                                                                                  Friday, March 13, 2009. A normal day for AKC Giant Alaskan Malamute breeder Sarah Kelly, as Sarah left her home in the countryside of Casey County, KY to go to the grocery store half an hour away, she checked her dogs who were locked up in their kennels and two were inside the house caring for their new litters. Everything was fine. She was not prepared for the horror she was about to witness-as she returned home one and a half hours later. When she pulled up to her modest home, the first thing she noticed was her white AKC female Malamute ICEE lying on the small road leading to her house, lifeless. As she jumped from her car she then saw her AKC female Malamute BELLA covered in blood lying in the bushes by her front door. As she looked further she saw her AKC sire MAX, also covered in blood and unable to move his rear legs?paralyzed in the back of the house?and then she saw AKC female LAYLA, also completely covered in blood with a head wound.   Terrified and in shock she quickly called the the Vet requesting help -all the while trying to comfort her dying dogs- who were like her children.

Please visit: www.kellysalaskanmalamutes.com to see photos of these gorgeous dogs before they were so viciously attacked. As this is a small community the Vet did not have the manpower or equipment to aid in bringing the dogs to the hospital, so she made some other calls to friends and to her husband Kirk, who rushed home and picked up each dog- gently placing it into the small trunk of her Ford Focus to take them to the emergency animal facility. Bear in mind that giant Alaskan Malamutes are very large?Max alone weighs in at 175 pounds and stands almost 3.5 feet tall?..For those of you that are unfamiliar with Alaskan Malamutes, they are known as ?the gentle giant? of canines. Originally bred by the Malamoot Indians to guard their babies when they were hunting and due to the dog?s large and muscular build, they assisted in pulling the village belongings on sleds to safety. I myself have two of these magnificent creatures and their nickname of ?gentle giant? is completely accurate. Sarah was able to transport MAX, BELLA and LAYLA to the vet hospital in the nick of time. Kirk stayed back at the house to search for one other dog Zoya, whom was missing. Upon further inspection and X-ray, LAYLA had been shot with a large caliber bullet which grazed her head and went through her ear, but she would survive. MAX had a bullet entry wound on his side and after X-ray it was revealed that the bullet came to rest in his lung, so prognosis was not good?..wait and see. BELLA?s X-rays revealed that she had been shot three (3) times from the rear and the bullets came to rest in her abdomen, so again prognosis was grim?.especially intensified by the fact that BELLA is pregnant. The fourth dog ICEE was already dead. She had been trampled to death by the neighbors? mule. It was stated by their neighbor that ICEE was somehow able to dig out of her kennel and went for a run on his property where she encountered the neighbor?s mule. The neighbor reported that she bit the mule on its rear end however there are no marks on the mule whatsoever.

The neighbor then grabbed his gun and enlisted the help of his hunter friend and they took off to shoot the dog. In the meantime ICEE was trampled to death by the mule, but this did not stop the neighbor and the hunter. They continued on down the road where they state that they saw the rest of Sarah and Kirk?s dogs and began shooting. One by one they shot these dogs down, leaving each for dead as if they were on a hunting holiday. They then called the county deputy sheriff Freeman Luttrell to report that all of these dogs were on their property so it was their right to just shoot them. The Deputy Sheriff (being a friend of the neighbor) agreed and went over to chat with the triumphant hunters. Meanwhile Sarah arrived home to the waiting carnage...blood everywhere and bloody paw prints all over the front door where the dogs had apparently tried to gain entry to get away from the hunters, she witnessed the Deputy on the small road, en route to her neighbors house. He was on his way to celebrate the hunters? fresh slaughter as she was dealing with the unspeakable carnage that was in her in her front yard. The Deputy then got her call for help and he was visible to Sarah from her yard laughing and back slapping with the men that had just shot her dogs. He waited approximately half an hour before showing up to take her report?..at which time she was advised that he would do nothing about the incident and that the neighbor was well within his rights to go shoot the dogs and NO he would not help her to put the injured animals in her car to get them help?he was reported to say ?he didn?t want to get bit??.which is absurd. Malamutes are the kindest and most gentle animals on the planet.

What kind of person- especially one that is sworn to protect and serve- could be that cold and callous to do nothing but be seen laughing with the hunters that committed this unspeakable act? In this citizen?s opinion, this outlaw Sheriff needs to lose his badge and be brought up on dereliction of duty charges. Upon further inspection, it seems that many residents of Casey County are afraid of this dirty cop and that these instances have been going on for quite some time. The neighbor and hunter both perjured themselves when they gave their statements to the Deputy saying that all these dogs were on the neighbor?s property. The current laws in Kentucky state that a landowner may shoot a dog if that dog is aggressive or diseased and poses an imminent threat to the landowner?s livestock or family wellbeing. ? It does not state that any landowner may shoot the dog in question as well as any other dogs in the vicinity?.To date Sarah and Kirk have been stone walled by the Deputy?s office to gain a copy of his report or to see the photographs that accompany the report. As you will recall at the beginning of this horror story, I told you that Sarah had checked the whereabouts of her precious Malmutes before leaving for the grocery. ICEE and two others were locked in the side kennel. MAX and BELLA were locked in the back double kennel. LAYLA and Zoya were locked in the house tending to their new litters. It seems a bit odd that somehow all of these dogs were able to get out of their respective kennels and even one out of the house on their own?one would say impossible actually. As it turns out, this neighbor had always wanted Sarah and Kirks 14 acre lot. They bought this land in 2006 and were unaware that there was a long standing feud over said property. They did think it odd that the neighbor was so unfriendly but that happens, so they didn?t give it another thought. ?..It further turns out that the neighbor had a key to Sarah?s house? back door?..suspicious indeed. It is further suspicious that these dogs that were shot and almost dead were able to make their way to their front yard in that condition. Especially big Max who was paralyzed from the waist down.      This would seem to negate the neighbors claims that all of these dogs were on his property.

Soon after moving in they found a little white dog that had been shot out in front of their house and a black Lab that had been shot in the neck. Kirk dug the bullet out of the black Lab dog and saved its life. They were able to find a forever home that Black Lab sometime later who gave him the appropriate name ?Lucky?, but they did not at that time, suspect it was the neighbor who did it. Months later this neighbors son was overhead laughing about the incident and confessing that they shot those two dogs and that it happens all the time. It seems unthinkable to this citizen that in 21^st century America things like this are allowed to go on. MAX, BELLA and LAYLA have all made it through these first days after the shooting and they seem to be getting better day by day. It is too risky to try and remove the bullets so we are hopeful that they will be able to heal slowly on their own. - For now they are resting comfortably and got to go home to their beloved Sarah and Kirk to heal with the help of love and prayers. Sarah and Kirk are a small breeding farm that only has between 3 and 4 litters a year. The Malamute business is their sole income and livelihood. You can help by getting this story out, the more people that know about this outrageous behavior in Kentucky the more likely that change can be effected. You can help by making a donation- however small or large- to help with the astronomical vet bills for these gorgeous dogs. You can help by just saying a prayer that MAX, BELLA and LAYLA will be OK ?..and that nothing like this is ever allowed to happen again to another family, Thank you. Media contact: Sarah Kelly @ sarah@kellysalaskanmalamutes.com to provide any particulars required.Donations: Sarah Kelly, 1140 Green Pond Road, Liberty KY 42539