A Pennsylvania woman is seeking justice after her friend stole her beloved dog, battering and killing the pet in a rage after being rejected by her.
Chyanne Callender is mourning the death of her 10-year-old pug Lexi after she was snatched from her Butler County home on Jan. 5. 2024. It turns out the person responsible was her friend Joseph Hillard, who confessed to stealing and killing the pup a year after the incident.
“I found an open window, climbed in, grabbed it and left,” Hillard told police, according to his arrest affidavit. “I at one point wanted to take it back, but started hitting it in a rage. It was battered pretty good so I took it to the woods and killed it.”
Callender told WTAE that the day before Lexi was taken, she and Hillard spoke about ending a friendship they had tried to form after her repeated rejections. She allegedly told him she didn’t want to remain friends, Law & Crime reported.
“He kept pushing it to where he wanted things to go further, to where he kept trying to force himself onto me and I didn’t want it,” Callender told local ABC affiliate WTAE. Police initially went to Hillard’s parent’s home and they denied having the dog and said they had no reason to believe their son did.
It wasn’t until Hillard walked into the police station and confessed that police discovered what actually happened. Hillard apparently suffers from mental illness.
Callender has created an online petition on Change.org to try and convince the local district attorney’s office to seek the harshest penalty possible for Hillard. “I just want her to get justice,” Callender said. “I want him to serve the full amount of time that he can for it. I don’t want to hear from him ever again, I’m never going to forgive him.”
“On January 5, 2024, beloved family pet, Lexi, was cruelly stolen in an act of personal retribution by Joseph Hilliard,” a description says. “This wasn’t just any animal being taken, this was Lexi — a companion, a confidant, a birthday gift from parents, a friend who was there through the best and worst times,” it continues.
“Lexi was not just a pet but an integral part of family life who ate meals with us, participated/went along in activities that she could, gave unconditional love and support & so much more. The theft of Lexi is a personal offense, committed out of spite and cruelty, by an individual who chose to exploit a cherished relationship after being asked to respect personal boundaries (not wanting to be friends anymore & not wanting to date).”
The petition emphasized that the crime falls under the category of animal abuse and pet theft. “We demand that the law takes this crime seriously, and Joseph Hilliard gets the maximum time allowed for his crimes, and Justice for Lexi is ensured,” the petition said.
