CLEARFIELD – A Coalport man accused of shooting a neighbor’s dog with a .357 magnum on Jan. 11.
Thomas Phillips, 43, is charged with one count of animal cruelty.
According to the affidavit of probable cause,Vincent Spencer told police that when he arrived home from work the dog was chained up to its dog house.
Vincent Spencer said he heard a gunshot. He said he looked outside and saw his dog, Sage, bleeding from its rear leg. Rebecca Spencer said that she heard a similar sound and looked outside and saw the dog bleeding as well.
Vincent Spencer took the dog to a veterinarian. Both Rebecca and Vincent Spencer told police that Phillips came to their house and told them he shot the dog because it was killing his geese.
Phillips is reported to have told police that the Spencer’s dog has been on his property on several occasions and that it has killed several of his animals. He said he shot at the dog when he saw it on his property on Jan. 11, but that he missed. He said he went to the Spencer residence to speak with them about the problem. He stated he knocked at the door but that no one answered. He saw the dog in the backyard and said the dog bared its teeth.
Phillips went on to state that he shot at the dog in self defense, but missed. He said that he saw a dead goose that belonged to him in the Spencer’s backyard. He said he returned a few hours later and told Vincent Spencer that he shot at this dog.
A state trooper reported that he checked the backyard for a dead goose but did not find one.
Sage suffered a gunshot wound to the right rear leg. The bullet exited and severed the dog’s tail.