Amanda Pippins Brown was lounging at home after work March 19 when her children ran inside the house screaming.
The family dog, Honey, had run inside the home bleeding. Brown’s daughters told her the dog had been shot by their neighbor.
“When it happened, I was in shock because I really didn’t know who got shot,” Pippins Brown told The Dispatch on Thursday. “I hear three gunshots, and then the kids run in the house. I go in the living room. Blood is everywhere.”
Pippins Brown’s children said Honey and the neighbor’s dog, Daisy, had been fighting, but when the fight ended and the two dogs ran in different directions, their neighbor – retired Columbus Police Chief Pete Bowen – shot Honey in the head.
Since then, the family has dealt with veterinarian visits and emergency surgery, the threat of infection and the ongoing concern that, along with losing her left eye, Honey might also lose the ability to breathe through her nose, where the bullet exited.
“I’m just thankful she’s here, she’s alive and the kids didn’t have to witness her get shot and die,” Pippins Brown said.
But one of the most concerning aspects of the experience for Pippins Brown has been the lack of support from law enforcement.
When Pippins Brown called 911 after Honey was shot, she expected to at least hear sirens when officers arrived, her having mentioned a gun. She was surprised when Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office deputies pulled into Bowen’s property instead of hers when they arrived despite giving them her address and never mentioning which neighbor it was.
After taking statements from Bowen, Pippins Brown and her children, the responding deputies told all parties it was a civil matter and issued no citation or charges.
“When they came over, they never took any information from me as far as my ID and phone number to do the report or give me the case number,” she said. “That’s why I questioned it.”
When she received the report a week later, Pippins Brown said the information was different from what she and her daughters told deputies. The original report said Bowen shot Honey while she and his dog were fighting. It also listed the wrong address for Pippins Brown and said she wasn’t home at the time of the incident, all of which she claims is not true.
Pippins Brown said a deputy came back to her house to write a new report that included statements from her two daughters, who said the shots were fired after the dogs stopped fighting.
How broad is the leash law?
Under the state’s animal cruelty law, anyone who intentionally tortures, mutilates or maims a domesticated dog or cat is guilty of aggravated cruelty.
However, Starkville attorney Jeff Hosford confirmed the law does include an exception that if an unconfined dog constitutes a threat of physical injury or damage to a domesticated animal, the property owner can lawfully kill the offending dog.
“If this dog came on his property and was aggressive in a manner, which he deemed to be threatening, I think he could do that,” Hosford said.
But when Pippins Brown spoke to Capt. Chad Bell with LCSO, she received a different explanation of the law.
“You can shoot a dog if it’s on your property,” Bell told Pippins Brown during a conversation Monday that she recorded. “This is the county. We have a leash law. If it’s not on a leash then it’s considered a stray.”
Pippins Brown provided The Dispatch with the audio recording of her conversation with Bell.
State law does allow law enforcement to kill dogs older than three months after a brief waiting period if they are believed to be a stray, but the statute only applies to law enforcement officers.
Pippins Brown asked Bell for clarification.
“So if his dog comes in my yard, I can kill his dog?” she asked. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“You can shoot his dog,” Bell said.
While Hosford was unfamiliar with the county ordinance, he said state law would require Bowen to have a valid justification for shooting the dog.
“If the dog is just wandering across your property, I don’t think you can pull out a rifle and shoot it,” Hosford said. “But if your children are outside … or your wife screams and you run outside and there’s a dog growling at her, in the county, I think you’re free to defend yourself. All of that comes back to a trial. The facts would come out at trial.”
Despite several requests from The Dispatch on Thursday and Friday, Sheriff Eddie Hawkins did not comment by press time on the shooting or his captain’s recorded statement to Pippins Brown.
Justice for Honey
Just after the shooting, Pippins Brown said Bowen apologized and offered to cover half of Honey’s vet bills, but the family declined.
“He said he just snapped,” she said. “… I have mixed emotions. I still forgive him. We’re neighbors. We’ve still got to see each other and stuff. But at the same time, you said you snapped, and you shot this gun. A bullet doesn’t have a name on it, and the kids were outside.”
The original report LCSO took said Bowen told Pippins Brown, “I was trying to kill your dog.”
Speaking to The Dispatch on Friday, Bowen maintained the shooting was justified. He said the case is a matter for the courts rather than social media, referring to a Facebook post Pippins Brown made about the incident Monday that has been shared more than 70 times.
“The county has got the police report and what happened,” Bowen said. “What happened was justified, and she’s got the courts to resort to, just like I do.”
While on one hand Pippins Brown said she forgives Bowen, the experience of caring for Honey, combined with her concerns about how law enforcement has handled the situation, have been big stressors for Pippins Brown and her family.
“It’s really affecting (the daughter who witnessed it). It’s like she’s getting depressed,” Pippins Brown said. “I didn’t think this would have this big of an effect on me as it does. I’ve just been so exhausted. I just wish it was simple.”
Pippins Brown said she intends to keep fighting for justice for Honey and plans to sign a criminal affidavit against Bowen in justice court.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
