Slap on Wrist for AC Officer Who Pleaded Guilty to Killing Dogs

Hoosick, New York: [Note: one click only for free, after that subscription required]

As animal control officer, [Matthew] Beck should have taken loose or stray dogs that he picked up to a local animal shelter. Instead, Beck killed the dogs, disposed of their remains and then forged state documents and filed false reports to cover up.

And to be specific, he picked up dogs, shot them & tossed their bleeding bodies in a manure pile on his farm.

The good news: He was charged by authorities for his crimes and pleaded guilty. The bad news: Apparently he wasn't cruel enough to warrant any felony charges so he's getting off with two weekends in jail for misdemeanor offenses. So we're straight, I want to clarify that this man was paid to pick up loose dogs and take them to the shelter so they could be reunited with their owners or adopted by new owners if they had none. He was their only chance at life. Instead of doing his job, he shot these pets to death and tossed them in a shitpile. They never had a chance. I think I could have argued for the felony charges.

He ended up getting caught because one of the owners whose dogs he picked up complained to authorities:

The investigation of Beck began after Hoosick resident April Stevens accused him of stealing her dogs, two four-year old Golden Retriever-Rottweiller mixes, Abby and Ginger. Her dogs were never found.

[...]

Stevens said that Beck had told her he had picked up two dogs after a woman reported finding them but that they were of a different breed than hers and that he had returned them to their owner. The woman said that she had found the dogs in her barn where they had apparently sought shelter but that they had no collars or identification. She called the police who in turn called Beck. He picked up the dogs.

Beck’s story fell apart when the woman who had found the dogs saw a flyer with the dog’s pictures that Stevens was circulating in her efforts to find her dogs.

As part of their ongoing investigation, State Police executed a search warrant at Beck’s Eagle Bridge property and found the remains of dogs.

I'm sure Mr. Beck thinks it's totally stupid that he has to give up two weekends for shooting the pets he was paid to protect. Sadly, Ms. Stevens has to give up every weekend - and every weekday - with April and Ginger, who themselves had to give up everything.