Late ending in man-shoots-dog tale

Elise Gee

EAST SIDE -- The way Robert Gelinas sees it, there’s nothing cruel about

shooting a pit bull in the face with a pellet gun. Not if it’s after your

5-year-old son.

The way the district attorney’s office sees it, when you then chase the

dog down and beat it to death with a shovel, it makes a strong case for

animal cruelty.

Maybe Gelinas was only protecting his home and child, maybe he went too

far. A judge will decide Sept. 17 whether to hold Gelinas responsible for

the misdemeanor charge, which is punishable by any combination of

community service, up to one year in jail, and as much as $20,000 in

fines.

“To me, this whole thing is nuts,” Gelinas said of the incident that

occurred more than 15 months ago. “It borders on outrage.”

It happened in May 1988 as Gelinas’ son Michael played in the backyard of

their East Side home. Gelinas was putting groceries away in the kitchen

when he saw his son flash by the window, run into the house, slam the

sliding glass door, and run into the bedroom.

When Gelinas looked into his son’s room, he saw Michael standing on his

bed screaming something about dogs.

At the sliding glass door, Gelinas saw two pit bulls clawing and barking.

The door had bounced partially open.

Gelinas said he was also afraid of the dogs and grabbed a pellet gun from

a kitchen drawer and shot one of the dogs three times in the face.

“When something happens to threaten your child, it’s an automatic

reaction to become adrenalized and react,” Gelinas said.

What happened next is in question and may be the key to Gelinas’ fate.

“The dog was trying to get away from him, and then he chased the dog down

and beat it to death with a shovel,” said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for

the district attorney’s office. “He had already shot the dog, why did he

have to walk up and beat it to death with a shovel?”

Gelinas denies ever hitting the dog with a shovel, although he admitted

he used one to chase the animals from his yard.

Richards said there is no evidence that the dogs were chasing Gelinas’

son.

Because the warrant was sent to a nonexistent address and stamped

undeliverable, Gelinas never got it. To his surprise Costa Mesa police

officers arrested him at his business on the warrant last week. He was

released after paying the $1,000 bail.

Gelinas said he has no intention of pleading his case or paying a fine

and hopes the judge will dismiss the case, which he called a waste of

taxpayer’s money.

He also said someone needs to take a stand against pit bulls, which he

described as having no “redeeming qualities” and no place in “suburban

society.”

Despite what happened, Gelinas said he still considers himself an animal

lover.

“Regardless of the fact that I’m defending my home, I wouldn’t go out and

shoot someone’s dog,” Gelinas said. “I love animals.”

Man shoots dog

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