Killing own pet can yield charges, Pa. justices rule

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has reversed a lower court's ruling that the state's animal-cruelty law is so confusing and ambiguous that pet owners can't be prosecuted for killing their dogs or cats.

The court said yesterday that there were sufficient facts to support the conviction of Wendy Colleen Kneller of Weissport for conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals. The case involved the shooting of her dog, Bouta, a 6-year-old pit bull and chow mix. The court said that there had been "no immediate need to kill the dog," and that Bouta had been beaten maliciously before being shot.

Superior Court ruled last January that the legislature hadn't made it clear that shooting one's own pet is a criminal act. - AP