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Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11

Toughening penalties if pets are harmed during crimes

In this Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 photo, Denise Krohn sits in her living room in Florida, N.Y., with Tedi, sister to one of Krohn's two goldendoodles that were shot dead during a burglary a year ago at her home in rural upstate New York. Krohn is pushing for "Kirby and Quigley's Law," legislation named after her slain pets that would make it a felony punishable by two years in prison and a $5,000 fine to kill a dog or cat while committing another serious crime. (AP Photo/Mary Esch)
In this Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 photo, Denise Krohn sits in her living room in Florida, N.Y., with Tedi, sister to one of Krohn's two goldendoodles that were shot dead during a burglary a year ago at her home in rural upstate New York. Krohn is pushing for "Kirby and Quigley's Law," legislation named after her slain pets that would make it a felony punishable by two years in prison and a $5,000 fine to kill a dog or cat while committing another serious crime. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) In this Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017 photo, Denise Krohn sits in her living room in Florida, N.Y., with Tedi, sister to one of Krohn's two goldendoodles that were shot dead during a burglary a year ago at her home in rural upstate New York. Krohn is pushing for "Kirby and Quigley's Law," legislation named after her slain pets that would make it a felony punishable by two years in prison and a $5,000 fine to kill a dog or cat while committing another serious crime. (AP Photo/Mary Esch)

FLORIDA, N.Y. (AP) – When Denise Krohn came home to find her goldendoodle Kirby bleeding on the kitchen floor, she at first thought it was a terrible accident. But she soon realized that her home had been ransacked, and that her other dog, Quigley, was lying dead on his favorite blanket in the living room.

Burglars who tore through her hilltop farmhouse north of Albany made off with several televisions, a laptop, some cheap jewelry and change. And, police say, they apparently shot her friendly, goofy dogs on their way out the door.

“It was just a mean, nasty thing,” Krohn said.

A year later, the crime remains unsolved. But what bothers Krohn is that police told her that if someone is caught, they would likely get 25 years in jail for burglary, but no additional punishment for killing the dogs.

“It’s just not right,” she said. “I don’t care about the TVs and other stuff. What hurts us every day is losing our dogs.”