When Marianne Zelonis came home from work one Thursday evening in April, she found her beloved three year old German Shepherd Kiera lying motionless just yards away from home on a neighbor's lawn. "I jumped out of the car and ran over to her and she had a bullet hole to her temple...she was dead." Zelonis' next door neighbor admitted it was her son, Arthur Menechini, a 43 year old resident of Pittston Township, PA who shot Kiera, and said the shooting was in self defense. However, upon investigation police were unsure how Kiera could have escaped her yard and found no evidence supporting Menechini's claim that Kiera had threatened or attacked him and his mother's dog Coco on what many have cited as the first time the man had ever walked his mother's dog on a leash. In fact, Coco was allowed to run loose at all times of day and night, antagonizing Kiera and other neighbors. Kiera, on the other hand, was known to have a great personality, be even-tempered and good with both children and other animals. Moreover, there was a history of animosity between the families and Mr. Menechini had often made it clear he considered Kiera to be a "nuisance". Claiming his actions were justifiable, he turned down a plea deal this summer. This month in a plea hearing, Menechini's attorney's request for dismissal of all counts of animal cruelty and disorderly conduct was refused. A bench trial has been scheduled for early January, with the presiding judge solely responsible for the verdict and if applicable, the sentence.



Mr. Menichini thinks he did nothing wrong - but there should be no tolerance for someone taking an innocent life in such a violent way. He needs to pay for his actions!



It is our intention to show our support for Arthur Menechini's conviction for the charges of animal cruelty and disorderly conduct. We also believe it is of utmost importance that Mr. Menechini receive the maximum sentence allowable; both to appropriately punish him for these crimes and to send an emphatic message that this type of violent behavior against animals and against a family's animal companion, will not ever be tolerated. It won't bring this family's precious pet back to them... but a strong sentence will in part bring them closure, and by discouraging similar acts of this kind in the future, assure that Kiera did not entirely die in vain.



