Neighbor accused of shooting and killing dog for no reason

STAND UP – I’m Natalia Hepworth in Idaho Falls at the Beck home sitting in front of a memorial for their dog Jack who was shot and killed by a fellow neighbor.

VO: Or at least that’s what witnesses say they saw Friday night.

SOT: “I saw Jack walking back down the road and my neighbors over there holding a pistol out walking around behind the dog,” neighbor Kenneth Jensen said. “I don’t know if he was going to shoot him again.”

VO: Neighbors say they saw 32-year-old Patrick Byrnes, shoot Jack with a 44 magnum.

SOT: “What had happened was Jack was shot in the street and he turned around and went to go get help from the same man that just shot him,” Owner Chandalee Beck said.

VO: Beck says Byrnes told police he was attacked by Jack, but the Becks say their beloved pup was a kind and submissive dog. Friends even trusted the dog around their babies.

VO: EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Byrnes but he did not want to give a statement.

SOT: “Not a vicious bone in his body,” Marcus Beck said. “He died in my arms. My 16 year old, which Jack sleeps in his bed every single night, he was in the room and it was devastating,” Marcus Beck said.

VO: Byrnes has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, and discharging a firearm within city limits. Members of the neighborhood have come together and made a memorial for Jack. Beck said the whole neighborhood is shaken and they hope for more action to be taken toward Byrnes.

SOT: “I just really hope we can get the peace back in our neighborhood,” Jensen said.

VO: Reporting from Idaho Falls, I’m Natalia Hepworth, EastIdahoNews.com.