Court Opinion

ID: 9750681
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 15:21:08.505876+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:26:17.953295
License: Public Domain

OPINION BY
KLEIN, J.:
¶ 1 Wendy Colleen Kneller appeals from a conviction for criminal conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals,1 in violation of Title 3, Section 325 of the Dog Law, for providing a gun and asking co-owner, Randy Miller, to Mil their dog after it bit Kneller’s child. We note that the statutory language of section 325, et seq., titled “Destruction of Injured, Etc., Animals,” is not merely unclear on its face but, upon further analysis, can only be characterized as confusing.2 Moreover, since these various sections of the Dog Law, when read together in a reasonable manner, permit a dog owner to destroy a dog by use of a firearm, we find that the entire Dog Law is ambiguous, and under the rule of lenity, no criminal conviction under that section can stand if an owner shoots his or her dog *496or cat. Therefore, we reverse Kneller’s conviction.
¶ 2 The facts that are set forth in the trial court opinion and quoted by the Commonwealth in its brief are not disputed with respect to Kneller. On March 24, 2006, Kneller told Miller to kill her dog and gave him a .40 caliber pistol for that purpose. When Pennsylvania State Trooper Francis DeMatto questioned her after the shooting, Kneller said she wanted the dog killed because it had bitten her child that day.
¶ 3 A jury trial was held on September 15, 2006, and Kneller was found guilty of criminal conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals. On October 23, 2006 Kneller was sentenced to six to twelve months’ imprisonment. The sentence was stayed until final disposition of her appeal. Kneller timely appeals, arguing that the trial court misconstrued the Dog Law, thus eliminating the relevant defense that an owner may destroy his or her dog by shooting it. The Commonwealth argues that the statute Kneller relies on is only applicable when the pet is injured or unfit for a useful purpose, and that was not the case here. Therefore, the issue becomes whether it is permissible for a dog owner to dispose of his or her dog that is not injured or unfit for use, by means of a firearm. We find that the statute does not clearly prohibit this act.
¶ 4 We first note that reading the “Cruelty to animals” statute3 along with the entire Dog Law is ambiguous as to whether a dog owner can kill his dog by means of a firearm. In general, the standard for interpreting a criminal statute is set forth in 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1928(b), which states, “All provisions of a statute of the classes hereafter enumerated shall be strictly construed;” the first enumerated class is “penal provisions.” This principle has been repeatedly cited by our appellate courts, and this Court recently stated: “According to the rules of statutory construction, where an ambiguity exists in the language of a penal statute, it should be interpreted in a light most favorable to the criminally accused.” Commonwealth v. Ryan, 909 A.2d 839, 842 (Pa.Super.2006). See Commonwealth v. Dickson, 591 Pa. 364, 918 A.2d 95, 100 (2007); Commonwealth v. McClintic, 589 Pa. 465, 909 A.2d 1241, 1246 (2006).
¶ 5 The basic statute, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5511(a)(2.1)(i), provides that it is a misdemeanor of the first degree if one willfully and maliciously “kills, maims, mutilates, tortures or disfigures any dog or cat whether belonging to himself or otherwise.” However, subsection (2.1)(iii) of section 5511 provides:
The killing of a dog or cat by the owner of that animal is not malicious if it is accomplished in accordance with the act of December 22, 1983 (P.L. 303, No. 83) referred to as the Animal Destruction Method Authorization Law.4
¶ 6 The Animal Destruction Method Authorization Law, 3 P.S. § 328.2(a) provides that one required method of destruction is by the administration of an overdose of a barbiturate. Subsection (b) provides that “[njothing in this act shall prevent a person or humane society organization from destroying a pet animal by means of firearms.”
¶ 7 Therefore, reading the various statutes together, a plain reading of section 328.2(b) leads to the conclusion that in general one cannot kill an animal, but the owner of a dog or cat can destroy that dog or cat by means of an overdose of barbitu*497rates or “by means of firearms.” 3 P.S. § 328.2(b). Additionally, the trial court recognized that the statute permits a dog owner to use a firearm to kill his or her dog. The trial court’s Pa.R.A.P.1925(a) opinion states, “By reading [section 328.2(b)] alone and in a vacuum, it would appear that the Defendants are correct in that they are allowed to use a firearm to kill the dog.” (Trial Court Opinion, 8/14/07, at 14.)
¶ 8 However, the trial court also concluded that because section 325 of the Domestic Animal Chapter, “Authority to Destroy,”5 refers to the ability of a policeman or constable to destroy an animal “that is injured, disabled, diseased past recovery, or unfit for any useful purpose,” 3 P.S. § 325, that this somehow restricts an owner from destroying a dog or cat
¶ 9 While this is one possible reading of the section, it is not the only one. It is just as logical that the legislature intended to allow owners to destroy their unwanted cats and dogs as long as they are not cruel in the destruction of the animal. Moreover, a reading of the various sections of the Dog Law supports the theory that the legislature did intend to allow dog or cat owners to dispose of the pet by shooting it if, for example, there is a dog or cat that demonstrates violent tendencies, although there could be other reasons as well. Since these are equally reasonable interpretations, this means that the statute is ambiguous, and under the rule of lenity, no criminal conviction can stand if an owner shoots his or her dog or cat.
¶ 10 The Commonwealth also argues that section 328.2 must be read in conjunction with section 325: We find it unreasonable to expect a lay person to think that the section dealing with a policeman or constable’s right to destroy a cow or a horse relates in any way to a dog or cat owner’s right to destroy his or her pet. It seems unlikely that section 328.2 should be read in conjunction with section 325, because the latter only deals with police and constables, whereas section 328.2 concerns individuals and humane society organizations. The interpretation suggested by the Commonwealth, that the two statutes must be read together, is unreasonable, and certainly does not meet the criterion of clarity necessary to sustain a criminal conviction under the rule of lenity.
¶ 11 It may well have been the legislative intent of section 325 to protect a citizen’s procedural due process rights and not, as the Commonwealth suggests, to mandate that the state be involved in the destruction of all animals.6 In particular, Pennsylvania law considers dogs to be personal property. See 3 P.S. § 459-601(a); see also Desanctis v. Pritchard, 803 A.2d 230, 232 (Pa.Super.2002). Therefore, if an agent of the state kills an owner’s pet without the owner having had an opportunity to be heard, that is a violation of his due process rights. See Snead v. Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Pa., 929 A.2d 1169, 1181 (Pa.Super.2007) *498(dog owner had protected property interest in her dogs, based on violation of procedural due process rights against state run shelter for killing dogs, as Pennsylvania law considered dogs to be personal property).
¶ 12 Additionally, section 328.2, which is titled “Methods of destruction of animals,” does not deal with only owners of dogs and cats but also with the way humane societies can dispose of animals. Humane societies are authorized to destroy animals whether or not they are injured or disabled. Pursuant to the definition of “dog control” found at 3 P.S. § 459-102, a facility has the power to apprehend, hold and dispose of stray or unwanted dogs, and the method of destruction shall be in accordance with 3 P.S. § 328.1, et seq. Further, section 328.6, titled “Humane societies’ and animal shelters’ use of drugs,” provides that such agencies can administer sodium pentobarbital “to destroy injured, sick, homeless or unwanted domestic animals.” This refutes the Commonwealth’s argument that this chapter only deals with injured and sick animals.
¶ 13 Moreover, section 328.2 also deals with destroying animals by use of a barbiturate. If it is read to mean that this can only be done to destroy sick or injured animals, as the Commonwealth is asking us to read it against Kneller, then every humane society that routinely kills unwanted animals is constantly violating the law.
¶ 14 The Commonwealth also contends it is illogical to allow someone to kill his or her dog by means of barbiturates or a firearm but prohibit them from beating or abusing the dog. This argument also fails. While one is allowed to humanely kill a pet, in this case allegedly because the pet bit a child, this does not mean one should be allowed to torture the animal. Under these circumstances, we hold that the legislature does not prohibit a dog or cat owner from destroying that animal by either the use of barbiturates or firearms.
¶ 15 The Commonwealth’s brief in this case appears to be more directed to co-Defendant Miller’s case than defendant Kneller’s. Miller’s case is not before us, as that has been remanded for a new trial. Miller’s case is very different from this case, in that there was evidence that in addition to shooting the dog, he beat the dog with a shovel repeatedly before he shot it. However, there is no evidence to show that Kneller was an accomplice to the beating of the dog. There is no evidence she was anywhere near the scene when the hitting with a shovel took place. The evidence just established that Kneller gave Miller a gun and told him to kill the dog. Whether or not she saw the shovel is irrelevant, as it is just as likely that Miller took the shovel to bury the dog after the dog was shot. The fact that Kneller may have lied about the fact that she even gave the gun to Miller does not create proof for the Commonwealth when none exists. Taking the Commonwealth’s evidence at its best, it is clear that Kneller was not nearby when the dog was beaten. What she did was to give a gun to Miller and told him to shoot the dog. As we have held, because of the ambiguous nature of the statute, the act of giving a gun to someone to have him kill one’s dog cannot support a conviction of animal cruelty.
¶ 16 The legislature certainly has the power to criminalize the action of a dog or cat owner if he or she shoots his or her animal. However, as with all criminal statutes, if the legislature wishes to make it criminal to shoot one’s own dog or cat, it must do so in a clear, unambiguous manner to give reasonable notice that the act is criminal. It did not do so in this case. For the above reasons, we hold that Knel-ler’s conviction cannot stand.
*499¶ 17 Judgment of sentence reversed. Defendant ordered to be discharged. Jurisdiction relinquished.
¶ 18 BENDER, BOWES, SHOGAN and FREEDBERG, JJ., join.
¶ 19 MUSMANNO and GANTMAN, JJ., concur in the result.
¶ 20 CLELAND, J., files a Concurring Opinion in which MUSMANNO and GANTMAN, JJ., join.
¶ 21 STEVENS, J., files a Dissenting Opinion.

. See 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 551 l(a)(2.1)(iii).

. Criminal statutes are to be construed strictly against the Commonwealth. See 1 Pa. C.S.A. § 1928(b)(1) (oflcntimes called the "Rule of Lenity.”).

. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5511.

. 3 P.S. § 328.1, et seq.

. "Any policeman ... or any agent of any duly incorporated society or association for the prevention of cruelty to animals, is hereby authorized to destroy ... any animal or animals in his charge, when, in the judgment of such policeman ... and by the written certificate of two reputable citizens called to view such animal or animals in his presence, ... such animal or animals appears to be injured, disabled, diseased past recovery, or unfit for any useful purpose.” 3 P.S. § 325. An earlier section, § 321, relating to dehorning cattle, was repealed in 1996.

. Courts look beyond the language employed by the General Assembly, in ascertaining legislative intent, only when the words are not explicit. Commonwealth Office of Admin. v. Pa. Labor Relations Bd., 591 Pa. 176, 916 A.2d 541 (2007); see also 1 Pa.C.S.A. § 1921(c).