A woman from Spring Hill was arrested Tuesday on multiple counts of aggravated animal cruelty after allegedly shooting at least two of her dogs more than 170 times with a BB gun during the course of the last two months.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Jamie Lynn Kujawa, 37, was arrested on multiple counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty. An investigation into Kujawa began April 19 after a neighbor reported hearing “the sound of a BB gun being fired followed by yelps of dogs being hit.”
When investigators from animal enforcement arrived, Kujawa was not able to provide documentation that her three dogs had been properly vaccinated. While the inspector had been checking the dogs, the officer noted injuries and scarring on the feet and paws of each dog. Their owner claimed the dogs had recently been in a fight, and Kujawa had been forced to use water from a hose to break them up. One of the dogs suffered from fresh puncture wounds in his paws and legs.
Kujawa was given ten days to get her dogs vaccinated. When the officer returned on April 20, 2022, an investigation into the injuries of the dogs and possible criminal violations continued. All three of the dogs had been limping, and two of the dogs had fresh injuries appearing to be consistent with dogs that had been fighting. The woman stated she did not have the funds to take her dogs to a veterinarian for treatment, and on May 3, 2022 surrendered two of the three dogs to the Hernando County Animal Services.
Veterinarians were able to remove a lead pellet from the paw of one of the dogs, and after x-rays were done, approximately 61 BBs and 19 lead pellets were found throughout the one dog’s legs, torso and head. The second dog had 71 BBs and 22 lead pellets embedded into his body.
At first Kujawa denied owning a pellet gun, but an investigation revealed she had used a gas-powered BB gun to shoot the dogs when they attempted to dig under the property fence and try to escape.
Authorities removed a third dog, three cats, a ferret and a bird from Kujawa’s home. An investigation continues.
(Photos via Hernando County Sheriff’s Office)
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