NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Dogs bark: it’s one of the facts of life. While it can be a nuisance, one New Hanover Resident allegedly took extreme measures to permanently silence his neighbor’s barking dog, shooting and killing it.
According to the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred on last week when Alex Christian Hollinger shot his neighbor’s dog.
According to a press release, “The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest for felony cruelty to animals. On March 29 an Animal Service Unit investigator went to a home … at the request of the owner of a dog who had passed away. The owner learned from the veterinarian that the dog had passed away due to metal projectiles in the dog’s body causing deadly harm.
“The ASU investigator began her investigation which led to the next-door neighbor … Alex Christian Hollinger was interviewed and the ASU investigator charged him with four counts of felony cruelty to animals. Hollinger was arrested and processed at the New Hanover County Detention Facility where he received a $25,000 unsecured bond and a first appearance today in courtroom 200 at 2 p.m.,” the release continues.
Billy Fulcher, the owner of the now deceased dog Gibson posted about the incident on Facebook, alleging that Hollinger (whose name he spells “Hollander”) was responsible.
He wrote:
On March 28, 2019 at approximately 7:30 pm, my next door neighbor, Alex Hollander, the murderer in the first picture, shot our youngest of three dogs, Gibson. Alex closed on the house next door and moved in a few months back. I performed my due diligence and went over, introducing myself and informing him about Gibson’s protective nature, informing him not to put his fingers through the fence around him. About a month ago, Alex paid me a visit one night at approximately 8:30 pm. The nature of his visit was related to Gibson’s incessant barking. We resolved to get Gibson a bark collar as a potential solution to the problem.
Within a couple of days, we got Gibson a bark collar and started putting it on him immediately. I saw Alex in his yard that next morning and informed him that we had gotten the bark collar for Gibson. He thanked me and I said that I hoped that it worked. A few days later, I saw Alex in his yard and asked him how Gibson’s barking had been since we implemented the bark collar. He informed me that it was much better and thanked me again.
That was the last communication I recall having with Alex. Even though we had an open dialogue about the issue, he never bothered to come and inform me if Gibson’s barking had returned. If he had, I would have checked the battery in his collar or something. But he didn’t. Instead, he chose to silence our three-year-old pet who was literally a member of our family. He took our sweet baby from us in one violent, senseless and monstrous act.