FL: St. Pete man mourns death of dog shot by home burglar

St. Pete man mourns death of dog shot by home burglar

By Luis Perez, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Nov 05, 2010 08:34 PM


Police said Louis Russell's pitbull terrier, Achilles, 5, was killed by a burglar's gunfire after a burglary Wednesday.

ST. PETERSBURG — Louis Russell felt sick with worry while at work Wednesday morning. A gut feeling told him to go check on his home. Five days earlier, he had been burglarized.

So he headed to his house. When he pulled into his driveway at about 10:30 a.m., Russell saw a man slipping out the back door. He had been burglarized again.

Russell was absorbed, however, by the silence in the 4100 block of Iris Street N. Russell did not hear his red nosed pitbull terrier, Achilles, barking as he should.

In the hallway, he found the white, 5-year-old dog on the ground, covered in blood. Achilles was shot twice — in the right eye and right shoulder, police said.

Russell grabbed the 80-pound dog in his arms, and Achilles seemed to look into his master's eyes. He was breathing, but felt like a rock. St. Petersburg Police officers rushed the dog to Noah's Place Animal Medical Center in a cruiser, Russell said.

About five hours later, Russell got a call from the veterinary hospital. His buddy had died.

"He's a tough guy," Russell, 27, said Friday. "But he can't stop bullets, you know?"

No one has been apprehended. The burglar is described as a black man in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall and 175 to 180 pounds. He had short hair, police said, and was wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt.

He drove away from the scene in a 1980s-model, two-door Buick Regal with tinted windows and 20-inch chrome rims.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at (727)893-7780, anonymously at (727)892-5000 or by text at (727)420-8911.

During the first break-in last week, a burglar entered through a glass window in the rear door, police said. Achilles was in his cage. All of Russell's valuables, mostly electronics, were stolen, police said. Russell did not report the first burglary, he said, because he didn't want his landlord to know about the dog.

The second time, the rear door was forced open. Outside, police found parts of a Nintendo Wii the burglar dropped as he got away. Inside, they recovered shell casings from a large-caliber handgun.

Russell, who works as an auto detailer at a dealership on U.S. 19, is looking for a new place to live. He can't stand to be in the home where Achilles slept in his bed and barked at the doorbell. Achilles greeted all with a wagging tail.

"He was a sweetheart," Russell said. "All my friends loved him. My girlfriends' kids played with him all the time."

"It doesn't even feel like home now."

The other day, Russell picked up Achilles' ashes. A police officer was kind enough to donate $100 toward the veterinary bill, he said.

St. Pete man mourns death of dog shot by home burglar - St. Petersburg Times