Target: The Honorable Jacob Putman, District Attorney of Smith County, Texas
Goal: Prosecute to the fullest extent of the law the two individuals charged with the torture and killing of a dog by hanging her from a tree on private property.
A dog was allegedly taken into the woods, hanged from a tree, and left to die — an act that resulted in felony animal torture charges against two men under the Texas Penal Code. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, a property owner discovered the dog hanging from a tree after finding two unknown individuals trespassing on his posted private land. A neighboring witness reportedly confirmed seeing the same two men walking in the area days earlier with the same white dog in their possession. Investigators with the Smith County Criminal Investigations Unit, working alongside the East Texas Anti-Gang Center and community witnesses, identified the accused and made arrests.
Both men were charged with Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals — Torture, a third-degree felony in Texas, and bonds were set at $100,000 each. The alleged act of hanging a living animal from a tree represents a deliberate infliction of suffering and death that has no place in a civilized society. Animals are entirely at the mercy of human beings, and when that trust is purportedly violated in such an extreme and intentional manner, the criminal justice system must respond with the full force of the law available to it.
Texas law treats the torture of animals as a serious felony, and the Smith County District Attorney’s Office must pursue this prosecution with the maximum available penalties. Sign this petition to demand justice for this dog and to send a clear message that deliberate animal torture will be met with the gravest possible legal consequences.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear DA Putman,
We are writing to urge your office to pursue the maximum penalties available under Texas law against the two individuals charged with the alleged torture and killing of a dog by hanging her from a tree on private property. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the accused transported the animal to a wooded area and hanged her from a tree — a calculated and deliberate act of cruelty that has resulted in felony animal torture charges for both men, each held on $100,000 bond.
Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals — Torture is among the most serious classifications of animal cruelty under Texas law, and the alleged conduct in this case suggests precisely the deliberate, sadistic harm those statutes were designed to punish. This dog was allegedly taken somewhere remote, far from anyone who could help her, and killed in one of the most cruel ways imaginable. The alleged perpetrators must face the full weight of that charge.
We respectfully but firmly demand that your office pursue conviction and the maximum available sentencing on all charges. The dog who was allegedly hanged from that tree had no voice — it is now the justice system’s responsibility to speak for her.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Aliaksei Lepik
