The Crawford County man who was ordered to decapitate his dead dog after it was shot by a deputy has hired an attorney.
Deputies were called to Joe Goodwin's house on Dec. 1 after the pit bull mix attacked a neighbor. As an investigator approached Goodwin's Wellington Drive home, the dog - Big Boy - charged at the officer who shot and killed him.
When Goodwin couldn't prove that the dog had its rabies shot, the officer said the dog's head needed to be cut off so it could be tested to see if it had the disease.
Goodwin is now being represented by Macon attorneys Reza Sedghi and Thomas Jarriel.
"Mr. Goodwin was forced to decapitate his beloved dog or go to jail after the dog was shot and killed by a Crawford County sheriff's deputy," Sedghi states in a news release. "The attorneys will pursue any and all legal remedies to hold accountable the egregious conduct of the investigator, who under the threat of incarceration, forced this barbaric and unconscionable act."
Crawford County Sheriff Lewis Walker said the investigator should not have ordered Goodwin to behead the dog.
The investigator - James Hollis - was placed on leave pending an investigation, Walker says.
We could not reach Walker for further comment Friday morning.
