Centerville man sentenced to probation for shooting, killing neighbor’s dog

A Centerville man charged with shooting and killing his neighbor’s dog was convicted and sentenced on Wednesday.

Court records show 61-year-old Larry Allen Hanson was convicted of one count of animal cruelty and sentenced to 30 days of home monitoring and two years of supervised probation. He’d previously pleaded guilty to the charge in July.

Centennial Lake police were dispatched to a home in Centerville at about 12:37 p.m. on Dec. 4, according to a criminal complaint. The responding officer made contact with a woman who was crying and said her 3-year-old Dachshund, Buddy, was shot with a pellet gun and may not survive. The woman told police the incident had happened at about 11:25 a.m. that day. She thought the dog was injured playing with her other dog but, after bringing the dog to a veterinarian, learned Buddy had a pellet gun projectile lodged in his brain. She also found blood outside by a fence where Buddy had been injured and suspected her neighbor, Hanson, may have shot the dog.

Man charged with shooting, killing neighbor’s dog in Centerville

The woman also told police Hanson had gone after her dogs with a broomstick in the past and always yelled at them for barking.

The complaint states an officer talked to Hanson, who said he couldn’t remember if he had been outside but said he didn’t shoot his neighbor’s dog. He also denied owning a pellet gun. Another officer later spoke to Hanson’s wife, who said they had a pellet gun but she couldn’t find it. The complaint states Hanson’s wife told the officer she thought Hanson probably shot Buddy as he’d threatened to shoot the dogs in the past. Hanson later admitted to officers that he shot Buddy with a pellet gun, but he didn’t intend to kill the dog, just to "sting" him, the complaint states. He also admitted to throwing the gun over a fence into another neighbor’s yard, were it was located by officers.

Buddy later died from his injuries.