Spokane7
50°
April 30, 2010 in City
Suspected poisoning kills Athol woman’s dog days after beating
Kathleen Callahan with her dog Charlee at her home in Athol. She worries for the safety of her two other dogs after the apparent poisoning of her dog Paddee.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
An Athol woman’s dog died of suspected poisoning Tuesday after suffering a beating from an unknown man who threatened repeatedly to kill her beloved pets.
Police believe they know who did it, but can’t prove it. And even if they could, animal cruelty is a misdemeanor in Idaho, one of only four states where that’s still the case.
Two of Kathleen Callahan’s three dogs were playing in her fenced front yard Friday when a man in a red pickup truck screeched to a halt in her driveway, jumped out, leaned over the fence and began punching the dogs, she said.
The terrified 57-year-old woman, who lives alone, yelled at him that she was calling the police. He left but not before unleashing an obscenity-laced tirade, saying he was going to kill the dogs.
“He kept saying that over and over and over,” Callahan said. “I said, ‘Who are you?’ He just kept beating on the dogs.”
On Monday, her 10-year-old mutt, Paddee, fell ill, dying the next day from internal injuries the veterinarian told her were consistent with consuming rat poison, Callahan said. “This guy came and said he was going to kill my dogs, and one day later he did.”
Before the man sped from her home Friday, Callahan wrote down his license plate number, which she gave to sheriff’s deputies. Police identified him as a neighbor who lives about a half-mile away.
The man, who Callahan said was “built like a wrestler,” has not been charged with a crime. The police report recommends animal cruelty charges be filed for the beating, but police have no evidence tying the man to Paddee’s death, said Karen Williams, Kootenai County’s lead Animal Control Officer.
“I cannot prove he did that,” Williams said of the poisoning, adding that it’s difficult to prove, shy of a witness catching someone in the act. But, “I can’t understand for the life of me why it was done. Her dogs are indoor dogs. I’ve never had any complaints up there. It’s not like they’re left outside alone all the time. They’re her babies.”
Callahan recently lost her mother to Alzheimer’s after five years of in-home care. Strain from repeated lifting has left the former interior decorator disabled and on Social Security , awaiting knee and hip replacements.
The woman’s dogs are like her children; they go everywhere with her and sleep in her room. Three large, fluffy dog beds sit on the floor near the front picture window and three elevated dog bowls sit on the living room floor.
The ordeal has left Callahan frightened and in debt, with more than $1,000 in vet bills from trying to save Paddee’s life and tests to ensure her other two dogs’ health. Those tests revealed Thursday that Charlee and Gracie are fine, but Callahan can’t let them out into the fenced yard or dog run because she fears they’ll eat poison, too.
Gracie, who came from the same litter as Paddee, has been dragging his dog bed around the house and wouldn’t eat for two days after he died, Callahan said. She burst into tears when she spoke of having Paddee cremated.
“He was a good boy. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that,” Callahan said. “I don’t know why this happened. I’m not bothering anybody. I’m just here minding my own business.”
Two Fernwood residents dead after Monday accident 
spokanecougar on April 30 at 1:55 a.m.
So sad, its amazing how people can be so cruel to animals. It takes a real big man to beat and kill a harmless dog. This guy is nothing but a pathetic, white-trash, redneck, hillbilly loser. Even worse that this pathetic piece of garbage did it to a helpless women. Be a man and try that when a guy is around you piece of redneck garbage and see how far you get, if I was there I would have beaten you like the piece of garbage you are.
Please, someone find this guy and see if he has any animals and if he does make sure they are taken away from him ASAP.
One more thing, shame on Idaho for animal cruelty only being a misdemeanor. Stupid little backward 1800’s laws that you still have on the books is why the rest of the country thinks you are some redneck outpost joke. Get with the program and make this a felony……even a state as conservative as Idaho has to have a majority of people be against animal cruelty……..right???
misjustice on April 30 at 5:26 a.m.
Note to Idaho: please join the rest of the country in the 21st century…
Mr_Bloggy on April 30 at 5:33 a.m.
Typical North Idabilly behavior.
Ma’am, you need to fully embrace the norms of your community up there and get an illegally modified assault rifle and spend hours every day shooting crap in the woods and next time this mouthbreathing yokel comes by to beat or poison your dogs why you just get all Second Amendment on him.
lewis8457 on April 30 at 7:37 a.m.
if it was my dog and i knew who did it i would go over and kill him. one less loser
TALKJOC on April 30 at 7:47 a.m.
Callahan should file charges so the man’s name is revealed. The law should be changed, period. Lucky a small child didn’t swallow the poison. What a loser!
JayNW on April 30 at 8:30 a.m.
hey now this is NOT typical of Idaho people’s behavior, and not all of us are hillbilly rednecks. Granted, I grew up in Washington, and have only lived in CdA for a couple years…but the people I know in this area are great. Only a select few are jerks like this punk who killed her dogs.
So lay off the generalizations that everyone who lives across the state border is a right wing, racist redneck hillbilly.
Thanks :-)
Thayne on April 30 at 8:46 a.m.
The police say they can’t (wont) charge the “man” for the animal cruelty crimes. What about trespassing? If he was on her property uninvited wasn’t he trespassing? I’ll let you legal eagles answer that. I know a trespassing charge wouldn’t be much, but the next time he comes on her property and she feels threatened…..
tylerr on April 30 at 10:40 a.m.
I’m not about to bash Idaho people at all, cause this kind of garbage happens all over the world. But, what I don’t and can’t understand, is that the law in Idaho states animal cruelty is only a misdemeanor. This is outrageous.
We all know that many killers out there started out killing small animals, then progressing on to humans. So, why do they allow this kind of evil to be charged as a misdemeanor?
Just because an animal is lower on the chain than a human, that doesn’t make their life any less valuable or important. My dog is just like a child to me and I can’t even imagine life without her. This gal’s dog was the same. This dog was her family and whether or not that guy killed the dog, He did beat it before it died, and there is no way on earth that he should get away with that.
If he can so easily beat a helpless dog, then the authorities in Idaho should ask themselves, “What is this guy capable of doing do another human being when he gets angry?”
It doesn’t stop with beating a helpless dog. This guy needs to be punished. Idaho needs to change this law. If this guy goes on to kill a human being, you will wish that you had actually done something about it.
My prayers go out to Kathleen.
Lynne on April 30 at 12:57 p.m.
Wouldn’t want to be in this guy’s shoes. You know the neighbors have figured out who he is. Scumbag!
susiq43 on May 02 at 11:42 a.m.
What’s next for this man if he isn’t stopped? Throwing poisoned candy to little kids in their yards? If he had a problem, why wasn’t he man enough to approach the lady in question? He sounds like a moronic creep, beyond the bounds of decency. Release his name to the public!