Florida man arrested after allegedly shooting neighbor’s dog after he claims it beheaded his goat

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly shot his neighbor's dog after he claimed it attacked and beheaded his goat.

What happened?

What we know:

An Osceola County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) deputy responded to the incident around 8:39 a.m. on Feb 21 at a home in St. Cloud. 

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The deputy said they spoke with a juvenile who said he was outside his home when he heard what he believed to be gunshots and whimpering dog sounds coming from the side of his home. 

When the boy stepped outside, he said he saw one of his neighbors in front of his driveway carrying what appeared to be a brown rifle. The boy said he saw one of his dogs run away from the man and hide under the crawlspace of his home. Meanwhile, the man got into a four-wheeler and drove down the road. 

Kenneth Steinke, 39, is facing animal cruelty charges. (Credit: Osceola County Jail)

The boy's father returned home after he said he received a phone call from his son about the incident, an arrest report states. The father was able to remove the dog from its hiding space and found it to be whimpering in pain and bleeding from its right shoulder. The dog was taken to the hospital. 

Investigators identified the man who had the rifle as 39-year-old Kenneth Steinke, who lives down the street.

Steinke told officials he was on the phone when he heard several barking noises in his backyard. He said when he went to check on the disturbance he saw four dogs biting his goat. Steinke said he scared the dogs away and then saw his goat had been decapitated. 

Steinke then went to his neighbor's house and said he attempted to get the attention of someone by yelling before then going back to his home and calling law enforcement. He was seen carrying what appeared to be a BB gun.

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Steinke was arrested on animal cruelty charges and taken to the Osceola County Jail.