An abusive man, who was also beating his girlfriend's children, killed a three-month-old Beauceron puppy with an injured paw by six blows from an axe, before burning its corpse and burying it in the adjoining woods. One Voice filed a civil suit immediately after the discovery of the facts for this little dog called Athena. April 18th 2018 was the first court hearing in Albertville. The judgment was postponed until May 24th 2018, to obtain a psychiatric report of the suspect. One Voice calls for exemplary punishment and the creation of a file of people convicted of violence.
Athena, was three months old and lived in Grignon in a mixed family, with five children. Wednesday April 11th, returning from work, the mother accidentally rolls over the dog’s paw. To avoid having to pay for the vet care, the husband asks the vet to euthanize the dog. Faced with opposition from his wife, he leaves with the little dog. However, warned that the man, who was disappointed and in a state of rage, says he’s going to kill the puppy himself, and despite the terror of the children, the veterinarian does not report this incident to the authorities. Returning home, the defendant kills Athena with six blows of an axe, under the horrified gaze of one of the children while the rest of the family cries in shock. The man then burns Athena's body in the woods and tries to bury it to better hide his evil act.
The link between domestic violence and violence of pets
The beaten child with a disabled foot, the scapegoat of this tyrannical step father, carried out a heroic act, calling on his own the gendarmes at the first blow of the axe to the puppy. Between his personal condition and that of Athena, we quickly understand what connection this little boy could have made. He will say to the authorities: "He hit my face with the palm of his hand. (...) At the same time he screams. He says words to me that I should not have heard and that I am a good-for-nothing (...) it happens every week that he hits me, there are some weeks where it's every day (...) he says that I am rotten and that I serve no purpose in life (...) he tells me that he will kill me".
This chilling example is typical of the link between the repeated violence suffered by the children and their mother and of those perpetrated upon the puppy. As one witness at the hearing confirmed, "He is capable of killing them all. The dog was an example of what could happen to them all."
One Voice civil party to obtain an exemplary sanction
Muriel Arnal, founding president of One Voice protests:
"For years, One Voice has been warning about this problem, about the link between this type of violence. It is essential that veterinarians report cases of abuse or death threats made to them, as is already the case in other countries, and that a criminal list be established! How many more deaths will it take to act? Pets are the first victims, but it’s also children, whose lives are broken, and women who are in danger !”
In addition to demanding an exemplary punishment against this man, we once again urge our representatives, and the President of the Republic to support the creation of a criminal record of violence and acts of cruelty perpetrated upon animals to better detect and punish those responsible at the height of the facts, not just according to the victims.
