Judge Sentences Three Men to Jail for Mutilation Death of Dalmatian

Three men were sentenced to jail Friday, one for up to three years, for mutilating a Dalmatian before killing the dog by slashing its throat and cutting open its belly.

“It is the first time we’ve sent people to prison for cruelty to animals,” Deputy Dist. Atty. William Moore said. “It sends a message to people that if you’re cruel to animals, you’re not going to get away with it.”

A jury in January found all three men guilty of mutilating and killing the 7-year-old dog named Duke.

Moore said the men tied Duke to a tree, taped his mouth shut and let a pit bull attack him. Two of the men mutilated the animal before killing him, the prosecutor said.

The men claimed the dog attacked them and that one of them hit Duke with a concrete block in self-defense.

Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Edward Biester sentenced Jan Pyatt to six months to 23 months in jail and Roy Elliott to nine months to 23 months for killing Duke. Jason Tapper was sentenced to 1 1/2 to three years.

Tapper and Elliott were convicted of cruelty to animals and conspiring to cruelty, and Pyatt was found guilty of conspiring to cruelty. All are in their early 20s.

Mary Callahan, who had owned Duke, called the sentences “fair and just.” She gave the dog to the defendants in July because she was moving to an apartment that didn’t allow pets.

She added: “I’m not happy because it still doesn’t change what happened to Duke.”