Man Who Axed Dog Gets Slap On Wrist

Last month, Freddie Mock of Manito, IL, bludgeoned a four-year-old Cocker Spaniel with an axe and left him for dead in the woods. Someone passing by heard the dog's cries and rushed him to the vet. The dog's injuries were so severe that he was put to sleep.

Mock was charged with aggravated cruelty and admitted that the dog's owner, Connie Vanderheiden, paid him $25 to kill her dog. (She has since been charged with aggravated cruelty and will appear in court Aug. 21.) What's even more outrageous is that after Mock's arrest, more people came forward to confess that they had paid him to kill their unwanted dogs, too. His own 14 dogs were thankfully surrendered to a local rescue group, Pets Without Parents (PWP). 

Mock deserves the maximum penalty of three years in jail and a $25,000 fine, but Mason County State's Attorney Kristin Miller has made a pitiful plea offer of just 90 days and two years of probation. This is unacceptable. Please contact Miller and the parties listed below and politely request that Mock serve more jail time befitting his horrific, cowardly crime:

Mason County State's Attorney Kristin Miller, (309-543-4212, [email protected]
Mason County Courthouse, (309) 543-6619, [email protected]
Judge Thomas Brownfield (217) 277-2055, [email protected]
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, (217) 782-7884, [email protected]

For more info on how to help, please call PWP President Susan Oldham at (309) 543-4652. Donations to Pets Without Parents are gratefully accepted through PayPal or snail mail: PO Box 25, Havana, IL, 62644.

Julia Kamysz Lane