- The News Tribune Pierce County prosecutors charged two
men with first-degree animal cruelty Friday, alleging they killed a dog
with a bow and arrow after tying it to a tree. Prosecutors charged Steven
L. Paulson and Troy L. Loney with one count each of the felony crime. Authorities
said on March 8 they roped the dog, probably a Siberian husky, to a tree
near Wilkeson Elementary School around 5 p.m. and shot it "numerous
times" using a bow and one arrow.
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- The two men allegedly would remove the arrow from the
dog's body and reuse it to shoot the dog again.
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- A witness said the men took turns and shot the dog at
least 10 times, deputy prosecutor Dennis Ashman said in charging documents
filed in Pierce County Superior Court.
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- After the dog died, the men threw its body into Wilkeson
Creek, he said.
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- Police decided not to arrest the pair, said Jim Osborn,
a Buckley police detective and Wilkeson town marshal. Both men told authorities
they had used a bow and arrow to kill the dog, Ashman said.
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- Both will be summoned when a court date is set. They
must appear or face arrest, he said.
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- If convicted, Paulson, 20, and Loney, 18, could face
maximum prison sentences of five years each and fines of $10,000 each.
But sentencing guidelines for a first offense call for less jail time -
up to a year, Ashman said.
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- Neither man could be reached for comment.
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- Paulson is the son of Wilkeson Mayor Doug Paulson, according
to police. --
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