All started maybe by a nuisance dog owned by a neighbor. Are animals all that important that they take precident over humans?

You're animal yourself. Maybe if you attended college, you would know that. So the answer to your question is: Yes ALL animals are THAT important. Do the words "Bipedal Primate" ring a bell? Probably not- Your name "Sad" definitely fits you!!!

Right on!

Your friend,

Doucheku

Yes, many remind me of this by their uncouth behavior. Many of these little "nippers" cause extreme torment for non owners by their bad behavior. Too bad it had to come to this tragic end, the life of an ill tempered little mutt for that of what I assume was really a good man. Folks, keep your "pets" under control and from annoying your neighbors. Look what can happen. My prayers are for him and his family. And you Animal Rights People, we are too quick to prosecute our neighbors. I wondered when I first read about this case if something really tragic might happen because of the many "charges" being filed by these "do gooders". Well, it has happened.

no, all animals are not that important. I live in an area where everyone has a large untrained dog and it is a MUST that they run free. You can kick their kids but never even glare at the the dog. Sad is correct.

doucheku-
you assumed 'sad' didn't attend college, an uneducated assumption.
ever witnessed the animal kingdom in nature? they don't get along, and the death of some small quadriped (word ring a bell?) is insignificant and routine in nature.
man is supreme.

We, as right thinking Utah people know that God gave us the right to have dominion over all other living things. It say so right there in the Bible, a book written by man, but we all know it's the word of God. So, because God says so in a book written by man, we have the right to do whatever we want when it comes to animals. Even though our survival depends on all other living things, we can do whatever we want, we don't need to respect anything. That's because we are right thinking people. Thank you.

I think that people who don't show compassion towards animals, and mistreat them for no reason should definately be punished. However, I also think that neighbors and others should be considerate of those around them when it comes to handling their pets. It's sad that it came to this, but it says the man also threatened his neighbors with the gun. He sounds dangerous, and his temper showed through in the way he treated the dog. I also think the animal rights groups need to take into consideration the needs and rights of humans, as well!

Yes. Hurting animals bad. People dying worse.

Pathetic to you Utah Republican to say that we can do whatever we want to animals. Typical attitude of a lot of the natives, or should I say Mormons here in Utah. For you or anyone to make that statement, is very telling of your true nature. So if we have dominion over all things and we don't need to respect anything, can we just go out and kill innocent people and children too? Read your bible again. Sin came upon this earth because of man, not animals. You idiot.

Foremost, pets have just as much of a right to live as you or I do. I am the owner of 4 dogs and nobody has the right to put a bullet into them. It really disgusts me that someone would commit these kinds of actions and even worse that some people are defending his actions. That dog was a living, breathing, creature, and was part of someone's family. I find it hard to believe that someone has a right to kill a neighbors pet because they find it irritating. What if it was a child that was being irritating? Would he have the right to put a bullet in the kid, because the parent should have been being more responsible? I think what we need to understand here is that what this man did was wrong. He obviously had a bit of a temper and he did not resolve the issue effectively. You have the right to call animal control if the dog is being too loud or destructive and then if the owner cannot control the dog it will be removed from the house. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL IT!

Uhhh, they said his death wasn't suspicious. It could have just been a heart attack or stroke in which case the dog incident had nothing to do with it.

This is really a sad story. This should have never happened. We all need to learn not to point fingers. It can always lead to someone taking his her life in the end.

Without all the facts it is hard to reach an informed decision. Did Mr. Griffith point a gun at his neighbor with the intent to harm him, or to protect himself from an angry dog owner? I don't know, do you have all the facts? What i do know is this, a man and dog are dead. I remain suspicious that the man killed himself because of guilt about wounding an obstreperous animal. My wish is that more of the folks writing here would of had more sympathetic feelings toward Mr.Griffith and his family. Shame on those here who failed to say one kind word about the lose of this mans life, who couldn't deal any longer with the public pressure of scorn and hatred(I assume). To many of us have become haters of people and lovers of animals. I know, people do bad things to us and animals are kind, right? Sometimes but not always; My niece has facial scares from an obstreperous dog. And, people scare people. We could all be more courteous to each other by governing our obstreperous animals better and by keeping our pellet guns in the closet. "Blessed are the peace makers..."

Domesticated Rat -
ANYONE willing to purposefully hurt an animal like that will commit the crime later on a HUMAN. He baited the dog to come to his yard. He broke the fence. He said the 7 lb dog had a cat in it's mouth. He turned his gun on the neighbor. Yeah, he sounds like a great guy. You sound like a bitter person who picks and chooses what they think is right. No one should have been hurt or threatened. He took away that family's pet that they loved and took very good care of. He threatened their security in their own home. They couldn't even let their child play in their OWN backyard. Maybe you should have read the story closer before you ran your mouth about something you obviously don't know much about.

I always said I would never own a little yippy "rat" dog, but one day I went to buy cat food for my cat and fell in love with a long haired daschund puppy. I bought her and have trained her not to bark. She is only 7 months old now, but she doesn't annoy my neighbors. Dogs are teachable, and their owners have to take the responsibility to do that. I am sorry that this death occurred, but like anonymous too said, maybe it was health realated, probably not, but we don't know that yet.

Pathetic is someone who has to bring the mormons into every debate. The dog was trespassing and out of control and the man should be aplauded for standing up for his rights in a society that doesn't seem to know that there are degrees of right and wrong. We want to sentence people for correcting a child by spanking or saving a cat from a dog, but aborting a baby is okay. You people are sick.

Aren't you intelligent enough to be able to tell Utah Republican was purposefully writing something to get someone to criticize Mormons? Ot maybe I'm the idiot because I am responding to you.

Sometimes we lose our temper and do stupid things. To some people a yappy little Pom is as bad as a pesky racoon dumping your garbage every night. Guess what would happen to the racoon after several times doing that? It would be a hat on my head! Not many sane people would cry about the racoon. Even though some animals live in our homes we still need to know that they are animals! They are not people and are not to be given the same rights as HUMANS. I have 2 dogs who are a part of my family. When they get old and incapacitated or end up costing me huge $$$ in vet bills they'll be taken out back and shot by me personally, without question. If they had human rights that would put me in jail! Let's be sure to keep the lines drawn between the species and remember that WE are their masters!

I appreciate Ryan Pahls comments in the article. That was a great thing to say.

Oh good. Now some idiot is blaming it on the Mormons

We have a humane society that protects animals. What we also need ia a human society to protect
humans from barking, annoying dogs and other animal pests.I love dogs but just like human animals they
have to be trained so that they fit in with society.
The reason dogs are man's best friend is because
they are so like him. Messy, Noisy and Destructive

Disney ruined the world when they made amnimals have human characteristics.

And animal is an animal! It is not a human!
The human rights of the owner should be considered.

Talk to someone who grew up on a farm or ranch. An animal is just an animal.

This was a stupid article to begin with- with an even stupider title. The man's cause of death had nothing to do with his shooting the neighbor's dog. But of course the news is all about drama these days. And just about everyone who commented got sucked into the drama too.

I'm glad that you have 2 dogs that are part of the family. I would hope that when they get old and incapacitated, or start to cost you too many dollars at the vet, you would spend a few dollars to have them put to sleep properly and painlessly, rather than your plan to take them out in the backyard and shoot them yourself, and risk a possible painful death, plus the terror of seeing someone they love getting ready to kill them.

Humans do have stewardship over the animals of the earth. My understanding of stewardship is that it also includes "taking care of". Anyone who has a dog (that is truly a family pet and not one left chained in the backyard, or left outside all the time) can tell you that they do indeed have feelings and develop a bond with their owners, no matter how well they are treated. Because of our domestication of these animals they are totally dependent upon us for their food, shelter and membership in a pack (our family). If a pet owner is irresponsible then a dog can become a nuisance, with barking or aggressive behavior. The Owner must be approached either by neighbors or by the authorities to correct the behavior or suffer the consequences. A neighbor cannot threaten humans, or destroy property (including the animal, which is considered property), in a civilized society, whether or not he thinks animals have any worth or not.

To Anonymous:

"Man is supreme?". I'd like to see your supremeness survive in the wild- It's the things people say that make me wonder if they are truly educated or not. And even if you're not as educated as the next person, thinking before you speak/write would be a good start.

BLAME THE MORMON'S!! BLAME THE MORMON'S!!
(kidding by the way)

I think the issue here is that some dude discharged a weapon to kill a 7 pound dog. And then aimed the gun at a person and threatened that person.

Whether you like dogs or not, it is illegal and wrong to do that in our society. I don't know what the deceased's problem was, but there are much better ways to deal with disputes with one's neighbors than killing their pet.

There are too many dogs out there who are annoying and a big nuisance to their nieghbours. I think people need to call the authorities and not take things into their own hands with an angry animal. Dogs can be vicious which most owners overlook because their dogs are gentle to their owners. I have been bit by a dog and the owner tried to convince me that his dog was a sweet loving pooch, and that I must have done something to agitate him. I was merely walking home from a grocery store with my arms filled with groceries. The dog's owner was a true lame brain. Also, people! clean up your own dog poop out of the yards of people when you are walking them. HE'S YOUR DOG! NOT MINE! Call the cops if you need too!

I have to comment here. A couple of years ago I moved to a nice neighborhood from a rural farming community where the dogs ran wild. Part of the reason I moved is because I thought that HOA and the city ordinances would protect us against the nuisance that animals can be. I love animals. I now live where I am surrounded by dogs. I rarely saw them but I heard them all day long while the owners were gone. I guess what is amazing to me is how oblivious the owners are. They think we should just tolerate it. Like the comment "people have the right to own dogs and dogs bark" talk about not caring about your neighbors. Yet we are the bad neighbors because we complain. Our neighbors now will not speak to us because we made such a fuss and they have to keep their dogs in the garage while they are gone. Unbelievable! It is the owners that have the problem. They should be more sensitive to the feelings of others and control their animals if they love them so much. I feel sorry for the man and his family.

Dogs smell! Our neighbor never cleans up the stink from his yard and It smells so terribly bad. I am not looking forward to another summer of my neighbors stinky dog! I am going to have to call the authorities or something. I just hate having enemies for neighbors ,but I have no choice in this matter.

Sympathies to you. It is awful to listen to a dog crying and/or barking for hours on end. We have a dog that cries whenever it is left by an owner, or when they are in the house and not paying attention to it. Another that begins crying/barking at 3-4 a.m.

We have a dog. I work and so on the way to work I drop her off at a dog camp where she plays all day, and pick her up on the way home. She is tired out when she gets home! Even when we leave her for a few hours here and there she does not bark (we asked the neighbors!). She is a larger dog (about 65 lbs) but is an indoor member of our family, so is not unhappy. Owners HAVE to be responsible for their pets, and considerate of their neighbors.

It isn't easy to approach a dog owner with complaints, so the next step (depending on where you live) is to call the Humane Society, Animal Shelter etc. to find out who to complain to, and then do it - asking that you remain anonymous when they approach the dog owner. Good luck!

You may be tired of your neighbor’s dog, but I’m quite fed up with all my neighbors’ cats. These critters make my flower garden their defecating ground. When I go to dig within my garden what do you think my hands always grab? It is the worst smelling stuff and it always makes me puke. I have as well received parasites from accidentally handling their nasty waste. The odor within my flower garden and vegetable garden is unbelievable! “Truly this is not what you want to fertilize your garden with. It will only kill your plants.
We are planning this summer on putting cages out within our yard to catch all the neighbors’ cats, and then we will call the Humane Society to come and get these pesky critters.

It is a shame as well that so many people of today are replacing family, children, and even husbands and wives with DOGS! Dogs have a short life span. Humans have many, many years to live. I think I prefer children rather than a ROVER child.

I am very sorry for the man and his family who died over a dog problem. Truly sad.

I love dogs and would love to have one but I can't. The My neighbors dogs would never stop barking if I brought a dog into my yard. They are out of control, the neighbor and the dogs.

I hear that little dog drove this guy nuts. Nobody just steps outside and starts shooting.

This man is probably dead today because of stress. Anything that increased his stress contributed to his death.

jeez, he didn't "die over a dog problem" people! no where in the article does it say that.

Hey Doucheku, Nobody should be killing domesticated animals for no reason. But if you think for one second that cats and dogs are even remotely close to the same level of importance as humans you better think again. It really gripes me that many people put the same level of importance on animals as they do on human life.

God put them on earth for the benefit of MAN and we should treat them with respect but they are definitely even close to humans in importance. Those fanatics who think offenses to an animal is equal to similar offenses to a human need to get a life and rearrange their priorities.

How many people on this forum have ever been on a walk and had some rabid, vicious, barking dog come running at you? This is always followed by the owner yelling at the dog to stop, and then the owner ALWAYS says, "Don't worry, he won't bite you!" Yeah right. The dog is ready to pounce on you and tear your face off until the owner stops the dog.

Let me first say that I am a dog owner, and a pet lover, and cannot understand cruelty or neglect on any level, to animals or people. There is a proven correlation that cruelty to animals often is followed by cruelty/abuse with people, especially if children are the perpetrators.

Any dog/cat owner who is not a responsible owner is neither a good pet owner/citizen/neighbor. There is no excuse for letting your animal bark, cry, or defecate on anyone else's property. It is highly unsanitary not to clean up after your pet in your own yard, and therefore have neighbors suffer the awful odor. Most places also have a leash law, so that animals cannot run wild or approach others. No pet owner knows if the person approaching is scared of animals, or allergic to them either.

There should be laws in your community to address some of these problems, and help should be available if the proper steps are taken. It should also be possible to remain anonymous if you don't want the neighbor angry at you.

Anyone had experience with reporting in the Orem/Provo area?

why are we supposed to feel bad because an animal abuser died? Big deal. Good for the dogs. He had no regard for life. I don't have as much class as the Pauls, I hope his death was as painful as that little dog he shot and killed. I only wish his family could have suffered like the dog's family did.

I knew a little 3 year old boy who lost his eye do to a vicious dog. I wished DOG owners wouldn't place their mangy-mutts on such a high level over that of humans. It really disgusts and repulses me! I too, am quite tired of dog walkers and their dogs letting their dogs defecate on my lawn and gardens. It's pretty irresponsible and disgusting. Dog and Cat urine also kills the the lawn. You people who let your dogs do this to other peoples yards and property are lower than snake vomit in my opinion. You should to be sited for trespassing and damage! It is OUR yards, and others that you violate, so please respect people and their property if you at all happen to have a brain?

A responsible owner does not allow a dog to run loose, or approach a stranger. You never know if someone is scared (which will make the dog's behavior even worse), or possibly allergic. There are usually leash laws in most communities, for a good reason.

These posts are addressing irresponsible, careless, negligent, or abusive owners, and bad neighbors. As a good pet owner I do not have problems with my neighbors because I do not allow my dog to bark uncontrollably and do not abandon her in the back yard, as do some of MY neighbors. She is always under our control, and most of the time is in the house with us when we are home.

Stinky yards, barking dogs, loose animals (including cats) are usually problems addressed by the local Animal Control, Humane Society or police. Find out what the laws are in your community, and how to benefit from them by reporting responsibly and properly.

Good luck!

First, thank you "Sad World"... so true. We don't know all the details. Yet everyone is so quick to point the finger and say nasty things about the other side. It's disgusting. Yes, there are many dogs out there that are totally out of control, thanks to their stupid owners... but there are some out there that are responsible pet owners. We have no idea which owned the dog in this instance. We also have no idea what led to the shooting, we don't know why the man did it, and we don't know why he died. Just because a man shot someones dog, is no reason for anyone to be glad he died. He left behind family who no doubt loved him, whether he'd done something wrong or not. And to "good for the dogs"... you are sick. Yes, abuse is bad, but NO DOG IS WORTH THE LIFE OF A HUMAN!!!!

Your post is inappropriate and shows disregard for common decency. You do not need to post something that could cause further pain to this person's family.

I am a dog owner, animal lover, etc. etc., and
I think he did wrong by shooting the dog, apparently threatening its owner, discharging a gun in a backyard, and damaging property. Someone with so little control, in possession of a gun is a danger to everyone. However, the authorities were pursuing legal avenues with regard to this crime. To wish pain on his family is just not right.

Hmm, people showing compassion for a man who shot a dog in front of a little kid and threatening the owner with the gun. LOL, you people have some serious issues. What if the guy had missed the dog and the bullet hit someone else, like the little girl? I surprised some of the people actually can spell, because their brains seem to be fried.

This was a terrible thing to say!

What he did was terribly wrong and the law was pursuing him and he was waiting trial on several serious charges, and probably would have been dealt with severely.

To wish pain on his family is just not right; none of us have any idea what kind of people they are, or what this entire incident has already done to them in their lives.

If we are true animal lovers (and I am!!)it follows that we should also be loving, considerate and kind to human beings - even if they all aren't necessarily nice people, and sometimes make it hard.

A tragic and sad ending to a tragic and sad event.

My landlord had a recent problem with his Lab. Its the quietest most well behaved dog I have seen in a long while, it ignores strangers and even disregards other dogs. It hated our mailman though, and they took repeated actions against him including discontinuing the mail. Turns out later that the mailman was smoking pot, unfortunatly they dont train dogs to like marajuana in dog school.

I dont blame anyone for being oversensative there though. People need to be able to address the issues of pesky dogs with their owners civily. Due to dog owners who allow their dogs to be civil nuisances dogs like my landlords get pulled into the process too.

I've grown up with dogs all my life, never assume that there are dogs that dont bite, I have a scar on my ear that says otherwise, and its from one of the sweetest dogs I have ever owned.

To: Anonymous & To: Sad society we live in

You both need some extreme serious mental help!!

I agree with others on here that dogs and cats should be watched by responsible owners. They should not be allowed to be a nuisance to others or neighbors. No one has to to put up with another persons obnoxious animal, nor if the animal is causing problems. I agree with others, call the authorities! Don't let these irresponsible pet owners get away with abusing humans.

I feel sorry for the mans family. It is a very sad situation.

No post that I read so far seems to have been showing compassion for the man who did these terrible things.

The family who lost their dog in this expressed compassion toward this man's family, and regret that things had gone so far.

A terrible thing was done, and people could also have been killed or injured. He was in the legal system, ready to go to trial, and probably facing severe penalties. If he had legitimate complaints about the dog and his neighbors, he could have taken appropriate legal action against them. Picking up a gun, discharging it in a residential area, killing an animal, threatening people with the gun, and destroying or damaging property was a very wrong choice that he made. For the posters who say don't put a dog on the same level as a human, remember he was also being prosecuted for threatening humans and their property.

To be glad he died, and wish pain on his family, and not compassion at this time is just plain wrong.

Judging from what ANONYMOUS 3:22-4:38 has said. We are in a lot of trouble, if we have people like this living out there in our world, who are pet owners, with this kind of mentality. WOW! you guys are seriously deranged!

"Animal Lvr" are we to assume that when your spouse gets old and decrepit, or sickens with the cancer...you're going to take him/her out into the back yard and shoot her?

Or your children?

You claimed that your two dogs are a part of your family...yet if they burdened you financially with vet bills you would shoot them.

So it can be assumed that your family might expect the same level of 'compassion' from you.

It is one thing to lose one's temper and do something stupid.

But when this something stupid amounts to discharging a firearm in the immediate vicinity of a child, and killing that child's pet, and then brandishes that firearm at the child's daddy...that goes above and beyond doing 'something stupid.'

It goes beyond acceptability and enters into the realm of criminality.

All I have to say is to everyone on this blog who owns a pet, be responsible for YOUR own pet. If it is your dog, or your cat that is annoying another person, or a neighbor, than remedy the problem. It is up to YOU completely as the pet owner and no one else. It is your duty to society to be responsible for your pet!