AK: Illegal trapping kills dog
Man charged with cruelty for trapping dog
THROAT CRUSHED: Conibear had been baited and set on man's porch.
By JAMES HALPIN
Anchorage Daily News
December 18th, 2008
A man suspected of killing his neighbors' pet dog with an animal trap
set on his front porch has been hit with cruelty to animals and illegal
trapping charges, Anchorage police said Wednesday.
Christian Kasprzyk, 41, faces the charges stemming from the death of
Grizzly, a 4-year-old Rottweiler owned by Tony and Natalie Lazenby, on
Nov. 26, police said.
Grizzly had been playing with another dog in front of the Lazenbys
house that morning, the day before Thanksgiving, when at one point the
dogs wandered off. Grizzly ran back minutes later, shrieking and
thrashing wildly, his head locked in the death grip of a Victor Conibear
220 coil spring trap, police said.
Unable to remove the trap, the Lazenbys called animal control, whose
officers took Grizzly to a veterinarian. He died there a few hours
later, his throat crushed.
"Tony and I are suffering still a great deal of grief over this
loss," Natalie said Wednesday evening. "It's the indelible images more
than anything ... We still have blood stains on the carpet that we can't
get out."
The trap is designed for use on small game like groundhogs,
woodchucks and coyote. The device had been set up and baited in a
laid-down plastic bucket, which held the trap in place, on the front
porch of a home near the Old Seward Highway and Dimond Boulevard, Lt.
Dave Parker said.
Police have not released the reason Kasprzyk allegedly had the trap
set on his porch, including whether he was targeting the dog or
something else, though Parker noted the charges Kasprzyk is facing
require criminal negligence.
"Even if you don't know, you should know that a dog could come along
and get his head caught in there," Parker said. "Why would a person set
an animal trap on their porch on an area that is surrounded by houses
and pets? That's the question that has to be answered."
Natalie Lazenby said Kasprzyk has not offered her family an apology
or explanation for an incident that has shocked the neighborhood.
"There's been quite an astounding ripple effect," she said. "There's
no children playing in our neighborhood."
Kasprzyk could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. He has
been issued a citation pending an appearance in court, police said. If
convicted, Kasprzyk faces a maximum of one year in jail and a $10,000
fine on each count.
