Every once in awhile you come across a headline that seems too shocking—and too horrific—to be real. This is one of those times.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of killing a dog for taking his golf ball. Puerto Rico police posted on Facebook a statement with a photo of 60-year-old Salil Zaveri being handcuffed at the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar resort on Saturday.
According to reports, the incident occurred on the 17th hole after a dog stole Zaveri’s golf ball. Zaveri fired several gunshots at the dog with a 9-mm pistol.
“Thank you to MY police officers, who today were the voice of justice of a puppy, whom an unscrupulous, killed viciously, for no reason and in a clear disregard for life,” police commissioner Antonio Lopez Figueroa said in a statement.
Zaveri, the CEO of Zaveri Consulting, was released on a $60,000 bond, but his passport and drivers license have been seized, according to the Associated Press.
Zaveri told the Daily News he shot the dog in self defense. He claims the golf ball taken was his friend’s, and that the dog was chasing after him and trying to get into his golf cart.
“I took the first shot when the dog was less than 10 feet away and the dog rolled over but may have died slowly so I got out of the cart and took two more shots out of mercy,” Zaveri said.
Zaveri is expected to appear in court May 19.
Article originally appeared on: GolfDigest.com
I find it absurd. American culture of loving their dogs so much is crazy. Its an animal & Americans are mostly meat eaters. That meat comes from animals that are slaughtered in thousands every day. But hey No don’t touch the Dog! LOL! I’m a vegetarian, so every animal’s life is just as precious to me, not just the ‘beloved’ dogs. But if a Dog is going to attack me, I’ll kill in self-defense. So what if it’s a Dog? Absurd culture.
Dog was probably just returning the ball to avoid the two stroke penalty.