'Smiling' woman throws boyfriend’s dog off seventh-floor balcony
A man claims his now ex-girlfriend smiled as she threw his three-year-old dog off a seventh-floor balcony during an explosive fight on Sunday night.
Eric Adeson, 56, says he is traumatised after watching his partner of eight months Shelley Nicole Vaughn, 46, allegedly toss his pet pug Bucky from his Clearwater Beach, Florida, apartment.
Mr Adeson claims Vaughn, who lives in another apartment two floors below, had been drinking, using prescription drugs and smoking marijuana prior to visiting his flat and chucking his mobile phone and keys over the balcony, the New York Post reports.
The 56-year-old said when he asked her to leave, Vaughn, who has previously owned dogs herself, took her anger out on Bucky.
"She picked up Bucky over there, and she just smiled and just threw them off the balcony," Mr Adeson told Fox 13 during an interview in his home.
The pug landed on the pavement below. He did not survive, police confirmed.
"I went downstairs and I hugged him, but I mean, it was seven floors, so. I kept thinking maybe he’d get up," Mr Adeson said.
Dog owner in 'state of shock'
The 56-year-old told the New York Post he remains in a "state of shock" after the alleged incident.
"I was just screaming, I was horrified," he said, adding that he got Bucky as a companion for his older dog Sandy as she underwent cancer treatment.
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"I lost Bucky and I lost someone I cared about. There’s just so much tragedy in this story."
Mr Adeson claims Vaughn had lashed out at him previously and he filed a restraining order against her just hours before she arrived at his home, Fox 13 reports.
The maths tutor has since filed a civil suit against his former partner asking for USD$30,000 in damages, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Mr Adeson said he hopes to get justice for Bucky and will donate any money he might receive from the lawsuit to animal advocate groups.
Vaughn has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty, criminal mischief and domestic battery, local Clearwater Police Department said.
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