SORRENTO, FLORIDA: A 65-year-old man from Florida is accused of shooting two dogs, and killing one of them in front of their owners’ home on Saturday night, 22 July. Sheldon Hayward is currently facing two counts of animal cruelty and one count of illegal gun possession.
The victims were Mary, a pet dog, and Miller, a service animal. They belonged to Laray Carnicelli and her daughter, Kacy, who live on Holopaw Trail in Sorrento, Florida.
'I hate him'
The dogs had escaped from the backyard when the gate was left open and wandered to the front yard. The Carnicellis heard a gunshot and rushed to the front door. They saw Mary lying dead with a bullet wound in her head, and Miller bleeding from his side. They also saw the Florida Man, Hayward standing behind his fence with a rifle in his hand.
“I’ve never hated anybody in my life. I’m 72 ½ years old, but I hate him,” Laray Carnicelli said about Florida man, Hayward as reported by FOX 35 “He took away a very precious dog that didn’t deserve that kind of death, ever.”
Deputies found a pool of blood near the Florida man's home
According to the arrest report, the Florida man claimed the dogs were aggressive and jumped on his fence. He said he tried to scare them away with a shovel, but they did not leave. He then fired five shots at them from behind his fence. However, deputies did not find any evidence of aggression or imminent danger from the dogs. They also found a pool of blood near Hayward’s home. They arrested Hayward and seized his gun.
Miller was taken to the hospital and is back home recovering from his injury. The Carnicellis have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the vet bills. “I can’t tell you how many animals have been cut loose from their owners that have been on my property. I’d never hurt them. Never,” Laray Carnicelli said.
Kacy wrote on the fundraiser that Miller who was initially admitted to ICU, was her and her husband's service dog, she revealed that her husband has a condition and Miller was trained to keep him safe, "My husband suffers from Narcolepsy. Miller is trained to alert those attacks to keep my husband safe. This dog is more than just a pet."
In an update, she wrote, "He is still very sore and on bed rest. He had 2 bullet wounds to his left shoulder with multiple fragments throughout his shoulder and soft tissue. Small fragments in his lung field. He had a pneumothorax and lung contusions from the bullet wound," Kacy wrote in an update.
