Gregory L. Mihaylo case

Gregory L. Mihaylo

Dog shot in head – body dumped in commercial trash container

Fairfield, CT Fairfield County

December 13, 2006

Gregory Mihaylo, 48, of 21 Beaconview Drive, was arrested Monday, January 29^th on an animal cruelty charge, accused of shooting his dog in the head and dumping its body in December 2006, in a commercial trash container on Black Rock Turnpike.

Mihaylo turned himself in at Police Headquarters after learning there was a warrant for his arrest. He posted $5,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, February 7^th in Bridgeport Superior Court on charges of illegal use of a firearm and cruelty to animals.

Mihaylo told Officers he had been drinking and the dog, a Norwegian Elkhound named Maggie, bit him as he let her outside for a walk on December 13^th. He then grabbed a .22-caliber, five-shot derringer pistol, shot the animal in the head and dumped its body in a Dumpster behind Carvel on Black Rock Turnpike.

Mihaylo's wife, who was in the process of getting a divorce from him, noticed the dog missing when she returned home, and Mihaylo later told her what he did. She contacted police the next day. Animal Control found the dog in the dumpster with a plastic bag wrapped around its head.

When Officers went to his home to question him, Mihaylo confessed to killing the pet. "I am messed up. I shot my dog," he told Police. His wife told Police her husband has a drinking problem and may suffer from mental illness.

Police Capt. Gary MacNamara stated, "Clearly the manner in which he treated the dog was extreme, to say the least and the cruelty to animals in this case does not really reflect the brutality with which Mihaylo executed their family pet."

Update 12/20/07:

Mihaylo, now living in Derby, CT was convicted of animal cruelty and illegal use of a firearm. He was given two years probation. This past spring Mihaylo had to participate in an alcohol abuse program. He was also ordered to surrender his gun permit and his guns.

Reference:

Fairfield Citizens News

The Bridgeport Connecticut Post