(SIOUX CITY, IA) A Sioux City man accused of shooting and killing both of his dogs is out on bond. Jon Holloway was arrested for animal cruelty and weapons charges.
When we went to the house where the incident happened, Holloway's sister pulled up to the house and told us to leave. She said she didn't know where her brother was.
But this incident has neighbors concerned and upset and they want to know why someone would do this to their animals.
"You wouldn't do that to a family member, and to me, dogs are family members," says Deanna Jarvis, President of Noah's Hope Animal Rescue.
Jon Holloway is accused of shooting and killing his two dogs in the backyard of a house on S Cornelia, in Morningside.
"I think it's really cruel, it's saddening. When you bring domesticated animals into your house, you're bring them into you're family, and to me it's like, he's killing his kids. It's pretty sick," one neighbor told us.
According to the criminal complaint, around 3:30 PM Tuesday, February 13, 2013, Holloway took both of his dogs into the backyard, ordered them into the doghouse and used his rifle to shoot both dogs, one after the other.
Police say, Holloway and his sister had been arguing about the dogs being aggressive, because they weren't spayed or neutered. But Deanna Jarvis, President of Noah's Hope Animal Rescue, says killing them wasn't the right way to solve the problem.
"There's money available, to get that done, for people that can not afford it, and I don't think it had to go to the extreme of killing the dog for that reason," says Jarvis.
Iowa law says it's legal to humanely put your animal down, a law Jarvis can't comprehend.
"If you shoot a dog, and it dies instantly, apparently that's O. K. Not in my book," she says.
One of the dogs died instantly, the other, however, roamed the backyard before dying from its injuries, which by law, is considered animal abuse.
Police arrested Holloway on animal cruelty and weapons charges, but Wednesday, the abuse charges were dropped because the Iowa Criminal code listed in the complaint was "incorrect".
Jarvis says, the entire situation doesn't sit right with her.
"He had to have thought it through, to get the gun, go out in the yard, do what he did. At some point, I would think, for most people, you would think oh this isn't quite right," Jarvis says.
Sioux City Police say the Woodbury County Attorney will decide next week whether to re-file the animal abuse charges.
Hleigh@siouxlandnews.com
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