(Photo courtesy of the Union Leader) The "Golden Ghost" is back in the news.

Police say Sam the golden retriever was being walked by his owners -- Margaret "Peg" Sklarski and her husband, Denis, of Deerfield -- when a confrontation with a Virginia Drive man led to his arrest.

Scott Perdue , 37, who is accused of picking up the dog and throwing him to the ground, faces six charges, including felony criminal threatening and animal cruelty.

Police said Sam was checked out by a veterinarian after the incident and appeared to have an injured shoulder.

   (Photo courtesy of the Union Leader)  The dog became known as the "Golden Ghost" after he escaped from Denis Sklarski at his Birchwood Plaza business in May 2004. The dog eluded authorities for nearly two years before being captured using a remote-control drop-net by Raymond officer Tona McCarthy.

Candia Sgt. Scott Gallagher, who investigated the latest incident, said the Sklarski's were near the plaza where they run an industrial insulation business, walking Sam on a leash, on the afternoon of April 24. The couple and their dog were almost at the corner of Blevens Drive and Virginia Drive when an off-road vehicle approached, Gallagher said.

Gallagher said the off-road vehicle was pulling a trailer carrying several children and a German shepherd. According to Gallagher, the German shepherd allegedly leapt out of the trailer and attacked the golden retriever. He said Perdue allegedly began cursing and grabbed Sam and dashed him to the ground.

Police said Perdue also allegedly threatened to kill Peg Sklarski with a gun, told her to "get out of (his) face" and threatened to run her over. The Sklarski's left and returned to their business, where they called police.

Hoping to identify the man they say attacked their dog, the couple returned to Virginia Drive. Earlier, they had watched as the off-road vehicle pulled into 27 Virginia Drive, police said.

Another confrontation took place in the driveway of the home. Police soon arrived and separated the parties, police said.

Perdue is charged with felony criminal threatening for allegedly threatening to use his vehicle to kill Peg Sklarski; he also was charged with two Class A misdemeanors for threatening to shoot the couple. He faces a third misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty for allegedly grabbing and throwing the dog.

Perdue was released on $500 cash bail. A June 4 arraignment is scheduled in Auburn District Court.

Update 6/5/08:  A man facing several charges in connection with an altercation involving a dog and its owners admitted to police that he threatened to shoot the dog's owners when they confronted him, court documents say. Scott Perdue was arraigned in Auburn District Court on charges stemming from an alleged run-in in April with the "Golden Ghost," a retriever also known as Sam.

  (Photo courtesy of the Union Leader - Sam getting a hug from Peg Sklarski after his 2-year life on the run came to an end )  According to an affidavit, police say Sam's owner, Margaret Sklarski, and another woman were walking with Sam on Blevens Drive in Candia April 24 when Perdue drove by pulling a few children and a German shepherd in a trailer behind his red four-wheeler. The document says that Sam was on a leash, but Perdue's dog reportedly "jumped from the trailer and began to face off ... with Sam."

"(Perdue) eventually approached the women and dogs and instead of pulling his own dog off of Sam, (he) picked Sam up and threw him approximately six feet while still attached to the leash," the report states.

Police also say Sklarski asked for Perdue's name in order to file a complaint, but he allegedly responded with profanities and threatened to run the woman over "all while in front of his children."

Later, Sklarski and her husband Denis went to the Virginia Drive residence they had seen Perdue drive to in order to get his name, and he then allegedly told them "I have smoking guns and I will kill you both."

Police say Perdue later admitted in a written statement that he threatened to shoot the Sklarski's during this encounter and that he "also admitted to driving the OHRV and pulling the children in the trailer."

Police said that Perdue was charged with a felony for threatening to kill Sklarski with the OHRV because he was on the machine at the time of the alleged threat. The gun threats garnered two misdemeanor charges for criminal threatening, and he also faces a misdemeanor for animal cruelty as well as two violations for driving the OHRV in a public way and failing to restrain his own dog.

(Photo courtesy of the Union Leader)  Court documents claim Sam remained on his leash during the incident.

Update 11/22/08:  A man charged with animal cruelty and felony threatening in a case involving a former runaway dog dubbed the "Golden Ghost" has a trial scheduled for December.

Telephone calls to Perdue's lawyer, Manchester attorney Ray Raimo, were not returned. The trial is scheduled for Candia District Court on Dec. 3.

Update 12/4/08:  After a three-hour trial that included the defendant's own 10-year-old son as a defense witness, Judge David LeFrancois found resident Scott Perdue guilty of animal cruelty and criminal threatening.

Prosecution witnesses Sklarski and Mary Anne Boyle both said they were taking their regular lunchtime walk when the encounter between the three dogs took place, but the women's testimony varied considerably. Neither agreed on which side of the nearby Virginia Avenue they saw Perdue approaching in his OHRV, and Sklarski said Sam was tossed onto his right side while Boyle said the dog was thrown onto his left side.

Defense attorney Ray Raimo placed emphasis on the inconsistencies, and under questioning, Perdue maintained that he felt Sklarski was the one threatening him by standing in front of his OHRV as he tried to drive back home.

Perdue's son stated on the stand that he'd seen his father "throw " the golden retriever out of the way," but denied that the dog had been "tackled" to the degree described by the prosecution.

LeFrancois said he saw "stark contrasts" in the testimony, but concluded there was enough evidence to find Perdue guilty of the cruelty and threatening charges. Perdue was fined $1,250 plus a $500 donation to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the two guilty findings and the OHRV charge, but LeFrancois said he would suspend all but $600 of the fines and fees, and he also ordered Perdue to get an anger management evaluation within 90 days.

Raimo said he plans to appeal the decision.

Reference:

The Union Leader