Advertisement Man charged with animal cruelty after dog shot, killed Man reportedly bragged about killing dog in Facebook video Share Shares Copy Link Copy

BY NATALIE ALLISON JANICELLO, TIMES-NEWSA Snow Camp man has been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly shooting and killing a dog, prompting the creation of a Facebook page in which thousands of people called for justice for the animal.Trevor Lee White, 20, 9449 Lindley Mill Road, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of felony animal cruelty.The incident allegedly occurred Nov. 7 while White was hunting on leased land near Robbie and Allie Dixon’s property, Dixon Brothers Farm, in southern Alamance County.White is accused of shooting the Dixons’ dog, Ellie Mae, from a tree stand. He then allegedly posted a video in a Facebook hunting group the next morning bragging about killing the dog as it was running loose, Allie Dixon said. Before removing the post after receiving criticism from other hunters, some members of the Facebook hunting group took screenshots of White’s post.“I think he posted it thinking he was going to be cool,” Dixon said. “He got the opposite effect.”Dixon said White shot her family’s dog in the face.A Facebook page Dixon set up a few days after the incident, “Justice for Ellie Mae,” has received more than 7,300 likes in about a week’s time, with people in the community and animal rights activists around the state and country supporting the Dixons and condemning the alleged shooting.Randy Jones, public information officer for the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office, said White initially gave a statement to deputies that the shooting was an accident while he was hunting, though investigators later determined that wasn’t the case. The sheriff’s office said some of the evidence collected from White’s online post, as well as from a necropsy that was performed on the dog, supported the animal cruelty charge.“This came to our attention as a hunting accident, that a dog was shot by accident by a hunter while he was deer hunting,” Jones said. “Some additional information, some of which appeared online, came up that led us to believe it was a criminal matter.”The investigation began Nov. 8, Jones said, deputies took out a charge against White on Monday, and the arrest was made Tuesday.Dixon said the support the family received through Facebook and calls for action from those posting on the Justice for Ellie Mae page most likely helped put pressure on law enforcement to follow through with the case.“There have been a lot of helpful people, and I think the attention the page has drawn has really helped me in getting him arrested and charged,” Dixon said.During her first week at work as the practice manager of Tri-County Veterinary Services, Dixon said, the family adopted Ellie Mae, an abused pit-bull mix whose leg had been kicked and broken. The dog turned 6 in September, and Dixon said Ellie Mae rarely roamed the property until the family adopted a beagle this past summer, which Ellie Mae would follow around sometimes.“She was the sweetest dog,” she said.Dixon said while the family is in full support of hunting and gun rights, they hope White will be convicted of the felony so he no longer can use a gun.“We don’t want him to get a slap on the wrist,” she said. “We’re not itching for jail time, but don’t want him to have the right to carry a gun, and we want his hunting rights stripped.”Multiple people have expressed interest to the Dixons about selling items in memory of Ellie Mae to raise money for animal rights. A designer is currently working with a T-shirt printer to sell “Justice for Ellie Mae” shirts, and someone else has discussed printing decals.Dixon said the family won’t receive any of the proceeds from those items, but the money will be donated to Susie’s Hope, a North Carolina-based organization that raises awareness about animal cruelty. The organization also prompted Susie’s Law in the General Assembly several years ago after Susie, a dog in Greensboro, was beaten and set on fire. The law led to stricter penalties for animal cruelty.