Hysteria Turns Into Horror: A Man Blows Up His Dog, Claiming the Devil Was in Her

He strapped explosives to her neck in the middle of the night, committing a brutal and evil act.

Just before 4 a.m., multiple people called 911 reporting that they heard an explosion in a Stevenson, Washington, neighborhood. It was Christopher W. Dillingham. He had just blown up his yellow Lab, Cabela, by attaching an explosive to her neck. 

The blast woke up Sheriff Dave Brown, who lives nearby.

"Sounded like a high-powered rifle going off just outside my window," he told KATU.com, which is continuing to report the story. 

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the bomb squad, and deputies all responded to  Dillingham's home, where they found remains of the dog, who was decapitated, on the property. When they arrived, Dillingham was throwing furniture out of his house. He now sits in jail on $500,000 bail, charged with reckless endangerment and possession of an explosive device.

He hasn't yet been formally charged with animal cruelty, a fact that has been reported widely in the news. Yet prosecutors say they have delayed simply to find out how to make it stick, because the dog did not experience pain and suffering, which is required under the charge. However, "possession of an explosive device" carries a much stiffer sentence -- as long as 20 years as compared with 12 months for animal cruelty. 

"There was never a point where we said we're not going to charge animal cruelty," prosecuting attorney Adam Kick told KATU.com in a later story. "We chose the (charges) that were most clearly geared toward protecting the public and keeping Mr. Dillingham in custody. We were always still reviewing the statute on animal cruelty."

As for why Dillingham, who runs a fireworks stand, blew up his dog, he told deputies -- calmly -- that his ex-girlfriend had “put the devil in it."

He told deputies how he built the device, attached it to the dog's neck while giving her treats, and cowered behind a wall as he set off the bomb. 

Shockingly, Dillingham had owned Cabela for only six months. The Lab was given to the family by Ty Freemantle, who lived in the area but had to relocate for a new job. His best friend said he knew someone who would make a good owner: Chris Dillingham's daughter. Freemantle checked her out. He met her and visited her home. He trusted his friend. 

He feels horrible that the beloved dog he hunted and fished with, who he had found on Craigslist when she was just six weeks old, came to such a devastating end. 

"I felt a little bit of guilt too," a shaken Freemantle told KATU. "It's the worst part."

Dillingham will probably face more charges -- including animal cruelty -- when he is arraigned on Aug. 15.

Via KATU.com; images via KATU.com broadcast 

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Viral Video We Love: Double-Dutch Dog Blows Your Mind

A single jump rope isn't enough for this incredibly coordinated and energetic rescue dog.

How many tricks or commands does your dog know? I'm proud that Jake can sit, lie down (usually), stay, come, and react to "Out of the garbage!!!" pretty quickly. He doesn't really know tricks, because we taught him the shake-paws business, and he almost blinded people by offering his paw constantly in all the wrong situations. (For instance, you'd be lying on the couch, almost asleep, then a paw with stout nails comes scraping across your face. It basically meant "I want, please!" and he wanted all kinds of things -- always food-related -- and had no compunctions about showing it.) Untraining him was far more of a trick, but he eventually cooled off on the paw business.

When I saw the video below, however, Jake's repertoire suddenly seemed very minuscule. Check out this amazing dog who seems to absolutely love doing double-Dutch jump rope. (Some YouTube viewers have complained about the music. Just turn it down if you don't like it, because the doggy is great without it, too.)

I always like to know how dogs learn things like this, since my dog's "tricks" can fit into the palm of his scratch paw. Fortunately, the dog's owner, Samantha Valle, who travels around North America with Stunt Dog Productions, tells about the trick and the dog on her YouTube page:

"The dog is Geronimo and she's a two-year-old cattledog mix. I pulled her out of a pound in Missouri while I was performing there two summers ago. She was three months old. Mo's specialty is tricks. She loves to train tricks, but also has a knack for agility and frisbee. I have seven dogs total, all mixes of herding dogs, which are my favorite.

"This trick took five straight weeks until it was perfect for me to call complete. I practiced it every single day, several hours a day. Now, there are a lot of hours in a day, folks, and I like frequent breaks, although Mo wonders why we are stopping and not jumping all day long. ;) Mo will work all day, she loves to EAT!!

"This is the first time I've trained this specific trick, so it was all trial and error. There were no specific steps I really took that made a huge difference. All I can really remember doing is trying a bunch of different things, rewarding her small successes until the trick was complete.

"This trick is so amazing because of all the things going on at once. Think about it: She has to find that 'sweet spot' in the rope where she can jump in, wait for the perfect time to jump in, watch the board on the floor and the ropes at the same time so she knows where and when to jump in, then she must time the jump perfectly, land, and immediately find the rhythm of the ropes and jump. She's just not running and gunning it. She waits for the right time (which through hours of practice, she has figured out) and jumps in. The stick is there to keep her in the middle of the ropes. As i found out by teaching my other dogs to jump with just one rope, they all want to jump right on top of you or into you really closely.

"My vision for this trick is exactly how you see it now: A dog that runs and jumps into two ropes while staying in the middle as if she were jumping like a human. I'm happy with the end result. Mo is happy to jump, and I hope you all are happy to view her video and watch her having a good time."

Hey readers, we needed something like this today after yesterday's two downer news stories. At least I did.

Hope this helps you jump into your Tuesday with a smile on your snout!

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The BIG Bus Tour blows into the Windy City

May 12, 2011

Chicago, Chicago: It’s Dr. Marty Becker’s kind of town!

Dr. Becker, his writing partner, Gina Spadafori, and official tour dog, McKenzie, will be appearing this afternoon, May 12, from 12:30 to 2 PM at the PETCO at 412 W. Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale. It’s part of their national tour celebrating the release of “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual: Hundreds of Secrets, Surprises, and Solutions for Raising a Happy, Healthy Dog.”

But first, Dr. Becker will be appearing on WLS-ABC 7 in Chicago Thursday at about 5:30 a.m., talking about the “Secrets, Surprises and Solutions” in “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual.” Tune in!

And don’t forget the entire tour schedule is at DrMartyBecker.com. You can also follow Dr. Becker on Facebook and Twitter, and McKenzie on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: Dr. Marty Becker and McKenzie on Fox 2 yesterday morning in Detroit.

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