NORRISTOWN — A 10-year-old boy was arrested Monday for allegedly beating and injuring a puppy last month. The boy reportedly at first lied to police suggesting someone older had hit the dog with a stick, according to Norristown police Chief Russell Bono.
The Norristown boy was charged Monday with animal cruelty and possessing an instrument of crime.
After determining the child and two other juveniles’ stories conflicted, it became apparent the 10-year-old wasn’t telling the truth, according to police.
Eventually, he told Norristown police Detective Raymond Emrich what actually occurred.
“He confessed that he was the one that beat the dog,” Bono said.
The juvenile also admitted the animal cruelty at a hearing Wednesday at Montgomery County Youth Center in West Norriton. Currently, the child is being held there.
The child reported seeing a 6-foot-tall man in his 20s hitting the dog with a stick at the Stony Creek Office Complex, at 151 W. Marshall St., on Tuesday, June 16.
The juvenile claimed the suspect was beating the animal in the parking lot, and ran off when he realized he was being watched.
After Norristown police arrived at the office complex, they found the injured puppy around 6 p.m. and took it to the county’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) facility in Whitemarsh.
Days later, the pup had surgery to repair broken bones in two legs at Metropolitan Veterinary Associates in Lower Providence. According to Carmen Ronio, the SPCA’s executive director, the surgery bill was $3,630, and he believed the animal would need extensive additional care in order to make a full recovery.
Days after the story ran in The Times Herald, a Norristown woman, Lyndsey Mahoney, claimed she owned the puppy – a 12-week-old German shepherd-collie mix – when it was snatched from her yard while she was recovering from childbirth at Abington Memorial Hospital.
Unable to pay for the dog’s mounting veterinary expenses, Mahoney signed the dog over to the SPCA. The shelter told her the puppy’s continuing care would cost an additional $2,000 to $3,000, she said.
Emrich and county Assistant District Attorney Abigail Silverman investigated the animal cruelty case. During the investigation, two women put up reward money for information leading to the arrest of the animal abuser.
Bono believes its crucial that the boy receives mental health counseling given his vicious behavior.
“Apparently he needs some very serious counseling,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll get him some help.”
Children who abuse animals are at greater risk of becoming serial killers as adults, Bono said.
