After harassing her for months, her neighbour threatens to kill her and shoots her dog
In a town in Haute-Savoie, racist and misogynistic harassment targeting a local resident culminated in a death threat… and a bullet to her dog’s head on 24 July. Although Django miraculously survived, he will have to live with shrapnel in his skull and trauma shared by his human. We are pressing charges against the person responsible for this tragic situation.
“Dirty ni**er”, “cu*t”, “dirty wh**e”. Amelia (name changed to protect her anonymity), who moved back in with her parents three years ago, had been enduring months of racist and misogynistic insults from their neighbour who had gone so far as to threaten to “put a bullet in her head”. These chilling words gave good reason to fear that this escalation of aggression was not over…
An act of unspeakable cruelty
On 24 July, Amelia and her mother were at home when they heard gunshots. Worried that Django, who was also the target of frequent verbal abuse, was missing, they went looking for him, first in the street, then in their neighbour’s garden. That’s where the two women found him: frightened and seriously injured, he had left traces of blood on the ground and had a worrying wound on his face. Amelia immediately took him to a veterinary clinic where he received emergency treatment.
X-rays taken at the clinic confirmed that the young mastiff crossbreed had indeed been shot. Although he miraculously survived, he is far from unscathed. The buckshot fragments were lodged too deeply in his skull to be removed, as this could cause neurological damage later on. Django and his family will need a lot of time to recover from the cruelty they have suffered.
When animal abuse mirrors that against humans
Shocked by the horror Django had been subjected to, and fearing for her own life which had been threatened numerous times, Amelia filed a complaint. When she asked for our help in obtaining justice, we immediately responded. We refuse to accept that individuals can attack animals, sometimes even killing them, and that such acts are not taken seriously. Violence against animals must finally be recognised as such and for the tragic link it too often has with violence against humans.
For Django, we have filed a complaint for acts of cruelty and serious abuse. His tormentor faces three years’ imprisonment and a fine of €45,000. Sign if, like us, you condemn all violence, regardless of the victim.
