Beaten dog improves; suspect remains jailed

[onehandle]

Source: AJC

The man charged with beating his dog in the head with a sledgehammer remained in the DeKalb County Jail on Friday morning, while the dog continued to improve at a Dunwoody animal clinic.

Joseph “Joe” Waters, 48, is in jail on a felony count of animal cruelty under $25,000 bail, according to the DeKalb Sheriff’s office records. DeKalb police arrested Waters, who is the owner of the 9-year-old German Shepherd mix, on Wednesday but have not given a motive for the attack.

A passerby found the dog wrapped in a blanket in Murphy Candler Park, off Ashford Dunwoody Road, when he was walking his own dogs early Tuesday. A bloody sledgehammer was found near the dog, who was in shock.

Dubbed Murphy for the park where he was found, the dog was taken to Pets Are People Too for immediate treatment to a severe head wound. Although he lost an eye in the attack, Murphy does not appear to have suffered permanent brain damage.

...to help cover the costs that may reach $6,000. Donors can make a gift at any Wachovia Bank branch, to the Murphy the Dog account, number 1010209642669.

Read more: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2008/12/05/murphy_dog_hammer.html

[YOY]

1. Poor Murphy. Glad he's getting better.

n.t.

[zonkers]

3. Me too. Everyone must be nice to our furry and unfurry friends.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. Well...

Sounds like Mr. Waters has made quite the reputation for himself. He's gonna be a real favorite in the slam. Lovely fellow, destined to always be known as "the guy who beat the dog with the sledgehammer".

Is America a great country or what? Even a guy like that can make a name for himself.

[Lautremont]

4. I just cannot understand people who hurt animals. Just can't understand it.

[Popol Vuh]

6. IMO These are people with

uncontrolled tempers and/or are extremely selfish who only care about others when its too their own benefit.

[whathehell]

8. Ditto...You've got to be the world's biggest bully to beat a defenseless animal. n/t

[Withywindle]

38. I can't either, and maybe I fail as a liberal because I don't want to.

And that includes people who enjoy watching animals suffer without doing it themselves--dogfighting, bullfighting, etecetera.

For fuck's sake, those aren't "sports."

[Mist]

5. I've often said, over the years, that I prefer animals to people most of the

time. This is why.

[stuntcat]

30. .

yep.

[NOLALady]

7. Thank heavens for the passerby.

He proved that not all people are like Mr. Waters.

[emilyg]

10. I'm pretty sure I heard on my local

news that this man will adopt Murphy when he is better.

[StarryNite]

20. I hope that's the case...

it would be wonderful. Poor Murphy. :cry:

[MadMaddie]

37. Yes he is

<snip>
Robert Kennedy, who found Murphy, said he plans to keep the dog. Although he initially intended to pay the medical bills himself, he set up a trust fund Thursday to help cover the costs that may reach $6,000.
<snip>

[LibertyLover]

9. It's good to hear that Murphy is improving

I too don't understand people who are violent to animals. We just had to put our 12 year old greyhound down after he suffered a massive stroke. It was so damned hard to say good-bye. May Murphy recover and find a forever home with kind and loving people.

[Blaze Diem]

11. Is this in Texas? Dekalb, Texas? Just wondering

Never been there but have some extended family there. They are great people, and have about 6 dogs. They would cringe at this sort of thing.

This is a story to break your heart. I'm sending a donation for Murph's care.
I hear "Arms of the Angels" the song on the ASPCA ad.

I read that children who are cruel to animals are cruel to people too.
Wonder bout this man's upbringing. His soul was bound up by something in his lifetime.

[onehandle]

12. Atlanta, Georgia. nt

[Blaze Diem]

14. Thanks. Clears that up..

Couldn't open the op link for some reason.

Poor old dog. Wonder how many years he was loyal to Mr Waters.

[Tempest]

13. I adopted a cat that was almost kicked to death by his owner

He had been kicked in the head so hard the right side of his face was caved in and his eye was hanging out by the muscle and optic nerves according to the humane society where I adopted him from. He had his tail stomped on so hard it broke and couldn't be fixed. It's at almost a 90 degree angle and it looks like he's pointing at something.

He had been at the humane society for a year before I adopted him. Despite everything he's been through he is a loving cat. He like to hold conversations and watch TV. I'll talk to him and he responds in different tones. He was named J.D. after the character on Scrubs and he's my best friend.

The guy got 6 months in jail for animal cruelty. I would have sentenced him to the same treatment as he gave his pet.

[Blaze Diem]

16. You blessed angel for adopting this cat. Lucky for JD.

O8) O8)

[Tempest]

23. I have a one confession to make

He has trouble with depth perception and when he jumps off of the couch he'll sometimes misjudge how close the coffee table is and will bump his head against it. He'll turn around and hiss at the coffee table and it makes me laugh. He appears to know what I'm laughing at because he'll look at me and howl as if to say "it's not funny".


He learned how to get up and down off a cat tree at the humane society so he does well with his.

Now if I can train him to go around me instead of climbing on top of me when finding a place to sleep on the bed I'll be set. It's no fun getting woken up at two or three in the morning from the weight of a 12 pound cat on your stomach or crotch.

[Blaze Diem]

24. lol. Mine used to sleep across the top of my head..like a orange fur bonnet.

Paws and head hanging off one side and paws and tail off the other.
It was soooo weird !!

[Tempest]

26. My cat in college would do the same thing

In the mornings he would reach down and force my mouth open with his paw to wake me.


J.D.'s an orange tabby too.

[stuntcat]

35. ((JD))

:hug:

[Hawkowl]

15. REC THIS PEOPLE!!!!

C'mon already! It has a link to make donations! Even if you can't make a donation please rec this so others who can donate money are aware. Please! Pretty please!

[Blaze Diem]

18. K & Rec XMas $$ for Murphy

what better way to spend a few XMas dollars.

[stuntcat]

31. OKAY!

I'm on a strict budget, my giving is all to groups who help animals but I'm maxed out on it. I just hope he's 100% doggy soon, I've sent serious vibes!

k,r

[pdefalla]

17. Hard to Donate

They should set up a PayPal account. The only way to donate to this account is to go to your bank or to a Wachovia branch, and this is kinda difficult. I'm going to do it though, can't think of a better use for the money. I really despise the jerk who did this.

[pdefalla]

29. This makes it a little easier

I went down to my bank to send a donation (you can't do it over the phone) and they asked me for the Wachovia "routing" number. We spent some time together looking for that number, and found it. Here it is so you won't have to do the search too: 026005092 and then the account number again is 1010209642669. The person at the bank also mentioned that there was a $30 dollar charge for the wire transfer (which she kindly waived after hearing the story), and in addition there might be another charge at the receiving end. This seems to be a really poor way of getting donations, PayPal would be the answer.

[RebelOne]

19. Please sign this petition to help prosecute this creep to the fullest.

www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-beaten-murphy

[emilyg]

32. Done.

[stuntcat]

36. everyone sign.

Well it's already reached the limit but it accepts sigs still!

[HillbillyBob]

21. People who treat animals this way will also treat other people

the same.
We have 3 dogs, the eldest was a hand full of fluff, she is so smart, I got her from a lady that rescued her and her litter mates from certain death, the owners of her sire and dam were going to have them put down because they were no pure enough,
No 2 dog was in the animal shelter she was a surrender because the family father lost his job and they were losing their home, No 3 was in the shelter and she had been so badly abused and starved her fur was falling out and her eyes were sunken in, she smelled of death. When you would go to pet her or moved too fast she would cower and whine. She is much better now gained 30 pounds in a year, eyes are bright and clear, fur growing back in and she is sweet and loving.

[Blaze Diem]

25. You do find the human spirt alive & well in the rescue shelters.

How can we not be touched to the soul.

[d_b]

22. sick asshole

:grr:

Get well soon, Murphy!

[travelingtypist]

27. Why wrap the dog up and put it where it would be found?

It's not pure animal abuse going on. I heard a story a couple of weeks ago
about a guy who buried his dog up to the neck and was going to hit it over
the head to kill it because he thought the dog was old and sick and couldn't
afford to have it put to sleep.

People are strange.

[lithiumbomb]

33. this man was my scoutmaster 20 years ago

Atlanta is a weirdly small community considering how many people live in the area. I know this man, he was my boy scout scoutmaster when I was a youth. He is an ex-marine who survived the Beirut barracks bombing in 1983.

Obviously he is a troubled man. When I knew him he was a good person, but obviously had some demons that he was keeping under control. He never beat any of us nor abused his dog that he took with him on our camping trips.

It seems that time has not been good to him. My best guess is that alcohol or mental illness has caught up with him and this is the result. His logic in court was that he was trying to put the dog down as he thought it was poisoned. If you think your dog is poisoned, you don't beat it with a hammer and leave it in a public park - that's just not a rational thing to do.

Anyway, I'm obviously not condoning beating one's dog. What he's done is horrible. I hope he is punished to the fullest extent of the law. However I hope that he gets some treatment as well.

[Withywindle]

39. That IS pure animal abuse.

"Putting it somewhere where it can be found" is the bullshit rationale people use to abandon dogs and cats by the roadside or in the woods or what have you. Most of them don't "find homes." They die cold, lonely, starving deaths or get hit by cars or torn apart by predators. It's both cowardly and ignorant--and if you throw beating the animal with a sledgehammer into the mix, it's cowardly, ignorant, AND violent - the shitstain trifecta.

[doodadem]

28. This writing seems appropriate.......

"I rescued a human today.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering

apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew

I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she

wouldn't be afraid.



As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view

from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want

her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter

keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.



As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about

my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make

a difference in someone's life.



She got down on her knees and made

little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head

up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my

neck; she was desperate for companionship.



A tear fell down her

cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I

instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I

would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do

everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her

eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many

more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to

be saved. At least I could save one.



I rescued a human today."

(~Author unknown~)

[stuntcat]

34. ..

That's as nice as anything I ever read I swear :cry:

[Leftist Agitator]

40. Jesus Christ, what the fuck?

"Pets Are People Too"

Fucking idiots...