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Man kills 11-year old daughter's puppy, little remorse



 
 
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Old July 12th 04, 06:15 AM
Thomas Murphy
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Default Man kills 11-year old daughter's puppy, little remorse

For the last 5 years my youngest daughter (I have an 11 year-old, and
a 14 year-old daughter) was wanted a puppy, either a black lab or a
golden retriever. Because I was in the Air Force and housing was
cramped without adequate space for the animal, I promised her that I
would get her a puppy upon my retirement.

On the 17th of March, 2004, my family moved to our retirement location
in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. I gave my 11 year-old daughter her first
puppy, a 2 month old Black Labrador Retriever, she named "Buddy".

We just bought a house in Mineral Point, PA, and for the last 4 months
have had Buddy as an inside-dog. Soon, the entire family grew to love
Buddy as if he were one of the children. My daughter took very good
care of Buddy, and taught him how to fetch, sit, lie down, and play
dead. We would always feed him morsels while cooking dinner, and
Buddy's antics were always a welcome form of entertainment, for he
learned how to play dead even though he wasn't told, and the minute
we'd say "good boy!" Buddy would leap straight up in the air, landing
on his feet, begging for a treat! He was a kind and loving puppy, and
he was definitely the best choice for my daughter. Buddy rarely went
outside except to do his business, and he was never outside without
supervision. We used to laugh, saying "Buddy was the Black-Lab who
didn't know he was a dog…"

On the 9th of July, my wife and two daughters were taking the trash
out to the street. Our driveway is almost 250 feet to the street, and
we live in the country, in a sparsely populated, rural community. The
street in front of us is on a small grade, with ¼ mile straight,
unobstructed view in both directions. There is normally very little
traffic on this road at 730 in the morning, except maybe a few
slow-moving farmers with tractors who are on their way to cut hay.
Buddy was accompanying my daughter as she took the trash to the head
of the driveway.

While my daughters and wife were placing the trash, Buddy was on the
side of the road. Along comes a 70-year old man named Leroy Beyer,
889 Wess Road, Mineral Point, PA 15942
814-495-5480, who drove down the graded road faster than he should
have been, and with the puppy in clear view, hit and killed the puppy
with his Ford Frontier pickup, in front of my wife and children who
stood on the side of the road in front of our house. Mr. Beyer did
not slam on the brakes, but slowed and eventually stopped the truck,
got out and checked his truck for damage, climbed back into the
driver's seat, backed the truck up (leaving the bleeding and
convulsing puppy on the shoulder of the road) saying "I'll be back",
driving away to leave my traumatized wife and children who witnessed
the event, standing there.

I am a recently retired USAF veteran and I had left the house about
30-minutes earlier on my way to a VA hospital appointment in
Pittsburgh. My cell phone rang with my hysterical wife telling me
Buddy was hit, and I immediately returned home, to find my sobbing,
traumatized wife and children clutching each other on the side of the
street as the blood pooled under the dead puppy. I embraced my family
and I too was immediately angry and saddened that this man, whoever he
was (at the time we didn't know the man's name), had killed my puppy
and in his haste and callous disregard for the dead animal or my
family, left the scene. My wife told me the story how this man hit
and killed the pup (without throwing-on the brakes or skidding),
checked for dents, backed up to where they were and said "I'll be
back".

Well, after almost 20 minutes, my wife and I were able to gain our
composure, pick the dog up and carry him to a spot on our property
where I began to dig a hole to bury our very-loved, and now deceased
puppy and friend. The man, Mr. Beyer, came back about an hour after
he killed our puppy, stated he was a preacher at a local church and he
was late for a seminar, and to say he was sorry.

When I explained to Mr. Beyer that he would have to tell my 11
year-old daughter that he was sorry, and oh, by-the-way, that the
puppy was only 6 months old and I'd have to replace the puppy, and
asked him if he'd be willing to help obtain another black lab, Leroy
refused.

I asked him then, why did he come back, was it only to torture us
further? Did he not think when he saw my wife and children on the
side of the road, putting the trash out, that perhaps there might be
an animal close by with the family? That he should probably slow down
so as not to create a danger to them? And even though the puppy was
on the side of the road, what gave him the right to kill the animal in
front of my family? If he hadn't been speeding in front of my house,
perhaps he would have been able to slow or stop to avoid the puppy,
who had no experience with the roadside. And the fact that he left my
family there, knowing he had just killed their puppy, without offering
help of any kind -- what kind of a heinous human being was he? Do I
now have the right to go to his house, select an animal or several
animals, and kill it for no reason?

And then I asked him, what if he had hit and killed one of my
children? How would he feel then? The Black-Lab puppy was like one
of my children. How was I supposed to feel, and how do you feel now
that you've harmed my daughter and family as a result of the puppy's
death that they witnessed?

Mr. Beyer had little remorse and still, after our brief conversation,
refused to pay or to help obtain another puppy to replace the puppy my
daughter had just lost. It is now two days later, and my wife and I
are still sickened over the callous, heinous disregard for the human
lives Mr. Beyer has harmed. My youngest daughter cried for almost an
hour tonight, saying how much she misses Buddy and wishes he were
here. Mr. Beyer cared not that this puppy was a family pet, or that
it was a very loved part of our family, a puppy that we had enjoyed
and put a lot of time and energy and love into. A puppy that
belonged to an innocent, 11 year-old girl, who waited for 5 years for
her own puppy. An 11 year-old girl who adored her puppy named Buddy,
and loved it with all her heart.

To Mr. Beyer, it was a dog along side the street and therefore,
deserved to die. And the law says that he has the right to kill it
because it happened to be unleashed and was alongside a rural,
sparsely populated, country road. Mr. Beyer is smart enough to escape
liability by claiming it an accident….though there were not skid-marks
on the road where a normal person would have slammed-on the brakes or
swerved, seeing a puppy on the side of the road or in the path of
their vehicle.

The puppy had harmed no one, it's only mistake was that it was on the
side of the road when Mr. Beyer drove his truck and hit and killed it
in front of my wife and children. He did it because he could, and he
was unremorseful. Mr. Beyer was preoccupied with the appointment with
his church and his truck, which was more important than the consoling
of my terrified wife and two children who watched Mr. Beyer hit and
kill the 6-month old puppy, get out and check his truck for dents, and
then wave goodbye saying he'd be back, offering little help or
consolation for the animal's death or the harm he had just caused.
His personal business as a preacher was more important than comforting
my family in a time of trauma.

Ladies and gentlemen, I know telling you this story won't bring Buddy
back. Perhaps it is my outlet for expressing my, and the pain that my
family has suffered over the last few days as a result of Buddy's
untimely death. I am a much better man than Mr. Beyer is, for I do
not seek retaliation of any kind, and I know had I been in Mr. Beyer's
shoes….the church congregation would just have to wait -- and they
would understand. Especially as a public official (a community
priest), I would expect Mr. Beyer to be more sympathetic to my family
who were traumatized and terrorized due to Mr. Beyer's actions, and
who today, are recovering from their shock and trauma.

I had a friend mention to me that I should post just such a message as
I have written, describing the events as clearly as I could tell it,
just as they occurred, as a way to express my pain and begin the
healing process. Therefore, I have headed his suggestion. I am sure
there are others out there who have gone through similar events and
who have dealt with the same level of pain and suffering as Mr. Beyer
has caused my family. In this message, I hope that it touches all and
I welcome your prayers so that my family and I can begin the healing
process.

Sincerely,

THOMAS MURPHY

(609) 502-3723 (cell)
 




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