NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Niagara County man is currently facing three felony animal cruelty charges in the shooting deaths of three dogs, Lucy Lou, Moo, and Princess.
50-year-old Richard C. Russell, his wife, and the three dogs were evicted from a Whitney Avenue apartment in Niagara Falls Wednesday. Additional pets, including a cat, two turtles, and two fish were left behind at the home but were later retrieved by Niagara SPCA investigators.
Niagara SPCA officials received word of the shootings from the Niagara County Sheriff's Office, and SPCA investigators later conducted interviews with witnesses. The bodies of the three dogs, along with shell casings, were found on Friday.
Niagara County sheriff investigators were able to find the burial site and later exhumed all three dogs.
Examinations and x-rays confirmed that all three dogs were shot with a .22 caliber rifle, which was taken into evidence. SPCA medical personnel removed bullet fragments from the jaw of one of the dogs.
Russell and his wife were later dropped off at a bus station in Buffalo after the shootings. The SPCA believes he may be staying with a relative in North Carolina.
