A Tennessee man is devastated after finding that seven of his dogs were shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy while he and his wife were out to dinner.
On November 4, Kevin Dismuke and his wife left their home in McNairy County for a dinner outing. When his wife returned, she called Kevin with tragic news: one of their dogs, Poe, was dead. Kevin rushed home to find all but one of his dogs dead.
“They told me the property was abandoned and the dogs were malnourished,” Dismuke said. “But I have the vet records. They were all healthy.”
A neighbor told Kevin that the deputy who came to check on the property had shot the dogs.
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According to Dismuke, the deputy was sent to their home after someone reported concerns about the dogs’ care.
The deputy, later identified as 24-year-old Connor Brackin, fired his gun multiple times, killing seven dogs. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) launched an inquiry into the shooting.
The deputy claimed the dogs were in campers on the property and that he shot them because he felt threatened.
The TBI says Brackin used both his rifle and pistol to shoot the dogs. Some of the shots were fired from outside the campers, while others were fired inside. The entire incident was recorded on the deputy’s body camera.
Brackin was charged with seven counts of aggravated animal cruelty and eight counts of reckless endangerment.
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He turned himself in on November 12 and was released after posting bond. He resigned from the sheriff’s office after his arrest. He had worked there for less than a month.
Dismuke and his wife are heartbroken. “You can’t replace my dogs,” he said. “No amount of money can fix this.”
