A Tarrant County grand jury on Tuesday declined to indict a postal worker accused of bludgeoning a Yorkshire terrier with a rock, a decision that angered the dog’s owners.
“We’re upset,” said Lawrence Brown Jr., one of the owners of the 4-year-old, 10-pound dog, Maxwell. “No. 1, he did it. No. 2, he told me he did it.”
The Browns rushed Maxwell to an emergency clinic in May, where a veterinarian told the couple that the Yorkie had a shattered skull and a severe spinal-cord injury and couldn’t be saved, so the dog was euthanized, Lawrence Brown said.
In June, Fort Worth police issued a probable-cause arrest warrant for Ricky Eugene Jackson, a mail carrier who Brown said told him that he felt threatened by the dog and was protecting himself. Maxwell was not on a leash and was across the street from the Browns’ house in the 3600 block of Hazeline Road.
Jackson was facing a felony charge of animal cruelty.
“He was familiar with our animal. He’s been to our home before,” Brown said. “I’m not really understanding a lot of it. It’s like he got away with murder.”
Brown said his wife, Taiesha, researched breeds for months before deciding on the Yorkie. She wanted a dog that was not aggressive, Brown said.
His wife did not handle the grand jury’s decision well and has taken days off work because of this incident, Brown said.
“We would take him out with us when we went to feed the homeless, to football games, when I went to work out,” Brown said. “He was just like a family member.”
Brown said he is seeking an attorney’s advice on whether his family can pursue civil remedies.
“How do all these other people who hurt animals get stiff sentences and this happens to us?” Brown asked. “We want to make sure our family member will not have died in vain. These terriers are not aggressive animals at all.”
Jackson’s attorney and a U.S. Postal Service representative did not respond to requests for comment.
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