Ohio fireman shoots his dogs to avoid paying for boarding

06/25/09
Firefighter Jailed After Death Of Dogs

Horst Hoefinger
Comments (41)

Just when I think I’ve read every horrific thing possible another story comes to light. A firefighter in Ohio killed his dogs to avoid the cost of having to board them. No, I didn’t mistype.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A judge has given a 90-day jail sentence to an Ohio firefighter who prosecutors say killed his dogs to avoid boarding them during a vacation with a girlfriend.

Forty-three-year-old David Santuomo of Columbus pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of a criminal tool. That charge concerned a plastic bottle that authorities said was used as a rifle silencer.

Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather Robinson said Santuomo shot his two mixed-breed dogs Sloopy and Skeeter multiple times on Dec. 3 after tying them to a pipe in his basement. She says he dumped the remains in a trash bin behind his firehouse.

Defense attorney Sam Shamansky called the crime an isolated event “totally out of character” for his client.

Well, I’m glad this was an “isolated event” and he only killed two dogs. What kind of ridiculous defense is that? So only doing this once makes shooting your dogs alright? Do you get some kind of “get out of jail free” card for the first offense?

As appalled as I am at the sentence I’m even more disgusted he still has a job. This man is a firefighter, a public servant, he deserves to be fired from his job. Is this a man you would trust to save your life, or someone that should be working for the public?

Santuomo may not have wanted to pay to board his dogs but I would be more than happy to put out a few dollars to extend his boarding time at the local jail.

* Photo courtesy Tom Dodge/DISPATCH, Santuomo is on the right.