Owner chases down suspect in dog beating

POST FALLS — Brandon George has a buddy who comes with him to work each day: his year-old border collie, Bubbers.

“He’s here to work, too,” George said.

Bubbers’ workspace is behind George’s business, CDA Import Auto Repair in Post Falls, where he has food, water and a dog house. His job is mostly to bark at cars, letting employees know when someone pulls up.

“He’s not aggressive,” George said. “He doesn’t even growl.”

That was what made it strange when employee Alex Schaeffer heard Bubbers yelping in distress Thursday afternoon and went to check on him.

"It started to get more frantic," he said Friday. "It sounded like it was tangling with something."

Schaeffer said he expected to see another dog, maybe a raccoon, fighting with Bubbers. Instead, he saw a man, later identified as 49-year-old Post Falls resident Jesse L. Jones, sitting on Bubbers and repeatedly punching the dog in the face.

"He was sitting on the dog's torso and blow after blow as hard as he could, leaning down into it, right into the dog's head," Schaeffer said.

The alleged attack was unprovoked, George said.

“(Jones) beat him within an inch of his life,” he said. “The pictures are disgusting.”

Schaeffer shouted at Jones, who allegedly muttered, “I’ll kill you.”

He then left the scene on foot, said Schaeffer, who called 911.

He checked on Bubbers, as well.

"He was bleeding, but not profusely," Schaeffer said.

George was on a test drive at the time of the incident. When he returned a few minutes later and found out what happened, he went looking for the man who allegedly attacked Bubbers.

He found Jones several streets away and called the police. He said he pursued Jones more than a quarter of a mile, until law enforcement caught up with them.

“Some guy’s not going to come behind my shop and beat my dog and get away with it,” George said.

Jones had blood on his hands, according to court documents, as well as scratches and puncture wounds. Police said tufts of what appeared to be dog hair were stuck in the dried blood.

He told police he’d had no contact with any dogs that day, according to reports.

Police detained Jones until Schaeffer arrived and placed him under citizen’s arrest. In Idaho, police cannot arrest someone for a misdemeanor offense unless they have a warrant or a law enforcement officer witnessed the crime.

Jones is charged with cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor. He pleaded not guilty Friday.

George said he thinks the charge doesn’t reflect the gravity of the offense. Bubbers was treated for his injuries by a veterinarian and is going to lose seven teeth, he said, which will have to be pulled.

A timid but friendly Bubbers was walking slowly around the front of CDA Import Auto Repair on Friday, stopping to snuggle with his owner.

“He’s not feeling good today, that’s for sure,” George said.

A fundraiser on social media already covered the cost of Bubbers' dental work.

Blood was reportedly dripping from the border collie’s mouth when police observed him “cowering” near his dog house at the scene. He suffered a large cut on his nose, according to court documents, and the right side of his head was swollen.

Judge Robert Caldwell ordered Friday that Jones be held on $10,000 bail.

In Idaho, cruelty to animals is generally a misdemeanor, but some forms of abuse become a felony if the defendant has previous animal abuse convictions.

Misdemeanor cruelty to animals is punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

George said he believes Idaho law should allow harsher penalties for animal abuse.

“I don’t think the animal’s life is worth any less than the person who beat him,” he said.