Clinton County family goes public after neighbor shoots and kills their Siberian husky
A Clinton County family is planning a protest rally and getting support from people all over the country after posting on Facebook that a neighbor shot and killed their dog last week.
Hobie Timmons, 58, of rural Germantown, said his family also may file a civil lawsuit against the neighbor, who called the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office on Friday and reported that he had shot the Siberian husky on his property because the dog was threatening his granddaughter’s safety.
Timmons called the allegation a “total lie.” He described the 11-year-old dog, Trigger, as gentle and friendly, as witnessed by hundreds of people who have been to his house or met Trigger on adjoining property at Hidden Lake Winery in rural Aviston.
“No one has ever questioned the demeanor of my dog, not one,” Timmons said Monday.
“He’s 11 years old. All he does is walk. He’s never been aggressive to a child. He’s never been aggressive to baseball players of mine, young adults. He’s never been aggressive to any of my friends. He’s never hurt anybody. He’s never even growled at anybody.”
Timmons works as a crane operator at U.S. Steel in Granite City and coaches the Aviston American Legion baseball team.
The BND isn’t naming the neighbor because he hasn’t been charged with a crime, and he couldn’t be reached for comment Monday. The case is under investigation, according to Sheriff Dan Travous.
“It’s more a question of whether or not it was justified, whether the dog posed an imminent threat to the person who shot it and whether the person had reason to feel like he had to protect himself,” Travous said.
The sheriff noted that the Clinton County state’s attorney’s office will ultimately decide whether charges are filed against the neighbor.
Timmons said the family’s pain continued on Sunday, when they had to “put down” their other dog, a 10-year-old Saint Bernard named Raven, because she stopped eating and taking her medicine after Trigger was killed. Raven already had health problems.
“She died from not taking her medicine and a broken heart,” Timmons said, his voice filled with emotion. “That was her buddy for eight and a half years.”
Timmons and his wife bought 10 acres in rural Germantown, between Aviston and Albers, about 35 years ago. They recently gave seven and a half acres to their daughter and son-in-law, who are building a home.
Timmons said he once had a civil relationship with the neighbor, who actually lives in the village of Aviston but drives out daily to check on his rural property and building. That changed in August, when Timmons was outside working on a trailer that his baseball team had ridden in the TrentonFest Parade.
“(The neighbor) stopped cutting his grass and came over on my property and said, ‘Hey, you need to tie your dog up. He’s been over here growling at my granddaughter, and he’s being aggressive. If you don’t do something about it, I’m going to shoot him.’”
Timmons said he would have been concerned about the child’s safety if he didn’t know that Trigger had never behaved in a threatening way toward anyone in the past. He continued to let the dog roam the rural area.
Timmons said a mail carrier called his family early Friday afternoon to let them know that Trigger was hurt and lying in the yard. His son, Brent Timmons, drove to the house, put the dog on a board and rushed him to a Breese veterinary clinic, where he died from injuries caused by shotgun pellets.
Hobie Timmons said the neighbor made contact with Brent Timmons, who was extremely upset, in the yard and showed no remorse or sympathy.
“(Trigger) had over 100 pellets in him, but he made it home to die,” Hobie Timmons said.
Timmons began posting on Facebook about the shooting late Friday afternoon, including photos of the dog lying dead on a truck tailgate and being buried in the yard. He asked people to contact the Clinton County state’s attorney’s office to demand “justice for Trigger.”
Hundreds of people from all over the country have reacted, commented or shared the Facebook posts. Timmons said some have offered to donate money for the family to hire a lawyer to sue the neighbor.
A protest rally is planned for Saturday outside the neighbor’s house in Aviston, according to Timmons.
