"The deputy interviewed Estil Clifton and learned that the dog had gotten into his chicken coop the previous night and killed three of his four chickens. Clifton was watching for it when it returned the next night. Clifton went outside when he saw the dog enter the coop. The dog attacked him, biting him twice on the chest. He grabbed a maul axe and hit the dog on the head, killing it." ---Warren Hinkle, "The Voice"
HELLO???!!!!
Virginia Code 3.2-6552 clearly states the dog must be in the act of killing or chasing livestock or poultry before a person can act with lethal force. Finding the dog and killing it the following night does not fall under this provision. You cannot kill a dog after the fact. That is illegal. The law is very specific and includes details about dealing with a situation that has already occurred and is not occurring in the moment.
So the dog attacked the man? Okay, here's my question: was the maul axe in the chicken coop when this happened? If it wasn't, this means Clifton had to leave the dog in the chicken coop and go back to grab the axe. The dog didn't flee. Why? Did something have its paw trapped, perhaps? Foot trap or chicken wire--that's irrelevant. Or, was the dog was locked in the coop deliberately for the specific purpose of killing it? No animal is going to stand still while somebody beats it to death. If somebody was braining me with a maul axe, I'm pretty sure I'd take a few bites out of their chest, too. I would also try to run away. We're talking about a 75 year old man here. You mean to tell me he chased this dog while it was trying to escape and was able to keep up well enough to kill it? Or was the dog restrained somehow, unable to flee? I'm sorry, but all of this spells INTENT to me.
Bottom line, I know no charges will ever be filed in this case. But Tazewell County officials shouldn't think for a minute that people are buying this story. This front page, above-the-fold article with graphic pics in The Voice just makes the whole thing look a lot worse. If the facts stated in this article are accurate, then a very clear picture emerges of a deliberate, criminal act. For me, Mr. Clifton has a lot more work to do explaining his way out of a Class 6 felony.
P.S.: The journalist who wrote this article, Warren Hinkle, has served (and is still serving, as far as I know,) as Chairperson of the Tazewell County Animal Shelter Board.
I'd be honored to put this motherfucker in that dog's position, just to see how he reacts before I bludgeon him to death with the blunt end of an axe.
Hello @rhondak! This vote comes courtesy of @thedolphincocoon by way of @sykochica. Love @poeticsnake & @thebugiq
Love you, Snekky and Bug! :-)
At the end of the Beatles’ song "A Day in the Life," a high-pitched dog whistle was recorded by Paul McCartney for his sheepdog.
How can these people be so cruel to animals?
These people should definitely be disclosure by local media...
The media and law enforcement are taking no action.
so sad...
A very cruel man, no compassion.
This is awful. The whole thing is just so terrible :( It seems like there were a lot of questions but I guess the man felt justified in killing the dog because the law says he can kill the animal simply chasing their livestock even. I don't live in an area where we depend on animals for our food - but I'm so sad that the dog killed all these chickens (I'm sure a 75 year old man was probably very attached to those animals!) Chickens are not just for food - but pets too! I know many people that keep them as lovely pets.
I'm sad that the poor dog was killed so brutally - instead of taken away in a humane way. (After he did break the skin of the man - he would most likely have had to be put down - but it would have been peacefully!)
The whole thing is one tragic thing after another, and I really regret that they didn't even respect the death of the animal enough by keeping the picture out of the paper like that. It's awful to see - but I suppose some people need to see the horror in order to take it seriously.
It sounds like the law needs to be changed - but to what? I don't even know. How can you protect your animals from a predator? A chicken's life is not more valuable than a dog's life - and vice versa. They're life. But the animals of the man should also be able to be protected because they belong to him. This was not just predator/prey in the wild. The chickens belonged to the man and were due the protection of the man.
The dog definitely went back the second night to finish off what he started the night before since the screen was ripped and the last chicken did die also. But did the man trap the dog? I don't know - it doesn't look like the dog's leg was mangled from a trap, but if the man tried to keep the dog inside of the chicken coop - that was very foolish for himself and a more dangerous situation to put the cornered animal in.
My heart is just sick over the whole thing. Too much death and pain. Sadness.
At the very least, this situation will hopefully help people to be more alert and prepared for situations like this. Thank you for how passionate you are for the lives of all animals, Rhonda. Chickens, Dogs... you're the Animal Guardian
Sadly, the laws are actually adequate. The law pertaining to this incident is quite clear. Dog in the act of killing/chasing livestock or poultry: legal to kill. Dog not in the act of killing/chasing livestock or poultry: not legal to kill. I have never seen or heard any proof of any time that the dog was actively killing/chasing chickens when the man killed him. I also believe the dog bit him in self defense because the man was trying to kill him. Like I said, no animal is going to just stand there and let someone beat its brains out with a maul axe. He restrained that dog somehow, which tells me there was clear intent to kill.
oh sorry - I thought that the dead chicken in the story was from this incident - not the night before... my apologies! When he went into the coop again and ripped the screen though? I don't know. I mean - we weren't there. But the man was 75 and wanting to protect his animals and probably scared too. The dog is just doing what a dog does. He's a predator and he sees prey. There really is no expectation that a dog is going to leave a chicken alone - it's their nature and its completely understandable. Especially if he was wild. But if he had killed three the night before... I don't know Rhonda.. this one is making me think!!! Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye. All i know is I just feel bad for everyone involved. No one wins. Like I said before - death, sadness, pain. I know that you're hurting too. I heard it in your voice on the show today.
Just sad overall.
The only thing that matters to me is that the law clearly states that killing an animal not in the act of killing/chasing livestock or poultry is a Class Six Felony. There is a LOT more here than meets the eye, including past history of behavior toward animals. I could only address the specific details addressed by this article. However, that's enough. According to 3.2-6552, the actions taken by Clifton were illegal. And had he attempted to abide by the law, he would never have been bitten at all.
If he had only called Animal Control the morning after this happened. Or even that night. Their phones are answered 24/7. Our ACOs would have dealt with this humanely and legally. Him taking matters into his own hands...well, I don't think there's any need to explain how that worked out for him.
And as a footnote: you thinking the last chicken was being killed by the dog when Clifton hit him with the maul axe--I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the author of that news article wanted everyone to think. It's never stated in the article, not once. So it's either hopelessly sloppy journalism or propaganda. People infer the dog was killing the chicken from the way she injected that into the story, and it was done very much on purpose to obfuscate the facts.
Thanks for giving more of the fact Rhonda! Sad to see that there's so much being twisted!
I read both this and the previous one. The 911 call definitely backed up the witness statement. It's nice to have on the official record that she said what she did.
I still find the whole situation concerning. He has one chicken left. The coop has already been invaded by a dog the night before. And he does nothing to animal-proof his coop? How do we even know the chicken was in there when the dog came? It could have walked off through whatever huge hole the dog got through. I hope the authorities have at least learned to show more due diligence investigating this type of case. What was the guy doing to the dog that the dog had access TO HIS STOMACH? Aren't dog attacks normally appendage?
The woman say the dog BEFORE the man killed it. So it got from whatever she saw it trapped in yet it made no attempt at killing her, then it got into the man's chicken coop and was in the act of killing the chicken after he came out?
I am still struggling to put the pieces together. It doesn't quite make sense.
Also, if the man was bit by the dog and the dog was dead, wouldn't it be standard procedure to take the dog's body or arrange to have it picked up by ACO immediately for testing to see if it was rabid as that could impact the man's treatment?
It's been years since I've been in the US, but last I knew you tested for rabies by doing something to the brain. This is why any suspected rabid animal has to be put down. So why, if the man had been bitten and reported it to the authorities immediately, wasn't testing being arranged immediately?
I am also wondering when that picture of his belly was supposed to have been taken? If he was reporting a new injury just received while he was fighting with the dead dog and killing it allgedly in self-defense, shouldn't there be evidence of the fresh wound? If there is, why is a picture of an older wound being released through the media instead of the photographic evidence? I'm feeling really confused here. But I'm no medical expert to know if that's how a dog bite from a dog that size looks on a man's stomach.
Many people, including me, are just as confused by the interpretation of this evidence as you are. None of this makes logical sense. I mean, the facts are clear as glass. It's all the spins being put on them that make my head hurt.
Sickening. It really takes one sick person to beat a dog to death. Like you said a dog would flee if being beaten not just sit. It's amazing how stupid Tazewell County wants its citizens to be. We should just sit back and shut our mouths. Finally that is not what we are doing. We are taking a stand.
You hit the nail on the head. Docile, unimpassioned voters just go with the flow. They agree to whatever they're spoon fed. And that's exactly how the Mountain Mafia stays in power.
shakes head 😔
I want to be a member with you in a group
How do you