The suspect told officers someone else slashed his dogs' throats. Now officials say he did it himself.
By JAMIE THOMPSON
Published May 20, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Gary John Martin told neighbors that someone broke into his house Friday, slashed the throats of five dogs and wrote lipstick threats on his mirror.
After he cried and collapsed in his front yard, sympathetic neighbors mowed his lawn and brought him pasta and sausage for dinner.
On Wednesday, sheriff's deputies arrested Martin on five counts of animal cruelty, saying he slashed the dogs' throats himself.
"That guy should win the Oscar," said neighbor Bill Collins. "We stood by his side, and then found out that he did it."
Martin may have hurt the dogs in an attempt to woo his estranged wife, who always thought he loved his dogs too much, according to Martin's son.
"It's sick," said Tim Martin, 28. "But I think he was trying to get her back."
The dogs are expected to recover.
Sheriff's deputies were called to Martin's home at 3980 55th Ave. N at 11:15 p.m. Friday after a neighbor, William Bolender, discovered the bloody dogs - four cocker spaniels and one miniature Doberman pinscher - inside Martin's house.
All of the dogs belong to Martin except for one cocker spaniel, which belongs to Bolender.
As sheriff's deputies arrived to investigate, Martin, 50, rushed home from his night shift job. He collapsed in the front yard, crying, "My babies, my babies, my babies," said neighbor Joe Keough, 30.
"He cried every time someone mentioned the dogs," Keough said.
In an interview with the Times on Saturday, Martin said his wife and his stepdaughter suspected him of hurting the dogs. He denied it, saying: "This is devastating. These dogs are my kids."
Martin had lived in the neighborhood for one to two years with his stepdaughter and wife, who left him in recent months, neighbors said. Since then, it looked like the dogs had not been bathed or trimmed.
Detectives began investigating the case as a burglary, but said evidence pointed to Martin as the culprit.
Martin told detectives that he hurt the dogs for attention, the Sheriff's Office said.
The dogs are recovering at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Largo, said Beth Lockwood, executive director.
Before hearing about the arrest, SPCA had decided not to return the spaniels to Martin because they were infested with fleas and showed signs of neglect.
But Martin kept his miniature Pinscher, which crawled on the couch to sit beside Martin even after being stabbed, according to Martin's son. That dog was removed from Martin's home on Wednesday.
The dogs likely will be available for adoption in several weeks, Lockwood said.
"None of us can believe it happened, let alone that he did it," said neighbor Keough. "He definitely won't be welcome back in this neighborhood."
Martin was held Wednesday in the Pinellas County Jail on $25,000 bail.
