LAFAYETTE PARISH (DUSON) — A Duson man is accused of fatally shooting two dogs over the weekend, leaving a local pet owner grieving and facing a leash law citation in what authorities say was an "unnecessary and avoidable incident."
“These incidents are on a case-by-case basis, and we have to look into everything in all aspects, and ultimately, we have discretion in these matters,” said Staff Sgt. Chris Cormier with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office (LPSO).
The incident began Friday when Gerald Trahan drove to meet a friend, identified by authorities as Damon Labbe (49), to exchange crawfish products.
Trahan told KATC the meeting was going smoothly until he left Labbe’s residence.
Sgt. Cormier said Trahan had his golden retriever and rat terrier in the bed of his truck, "as he often does."
Shortly after driving away, Trahan realized the dogs were no longer in the truck. Five to six minutes after leaving, Trahan said he called Labbe.
“‘They’re at your house. I’m coming to pick them up,’” Trahan recalled telling Labbe. “And he said, ‘I just shot a dog.’”
According to Trahan, Labbe believed the dogs belonged to a neighbor.
In his police statement Trahan said that when he returned to the property, he found his 5-year-old golden retriever, Buddy, shot in the head, and his 7-year-old rat terrier, Pupa, shot in the stomach.
Cormier said investigators determined the dogs were trespassing but posed no immediate threat.
“There’s no justifiable reason to shoot and kill an animal because you simply don’t like it being on your property,” Cormier said. “With what we learned—that the dogs were just simply trespassing—they posed no immediate threat to him, his family or any livestock that he may have.”
Trahan said he buried his dogs later that day. He also received a citation for alleged violations of local leash laws in connection with the incident.
”My dogs did get out the truck for a good five, six minutes," Trahan said, "and within them five or six minutes or whatever, they were dead. So I don’t know if a leash woulda done em any good."
Efforts to reach Labbe for comment were unsuccessful. He faces two counts of felony animal cruelty, and bailed out of the Lafayette correctional center Monday afternoon.
