HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Hernando County woman was sentenced after shooting her dogs over 170 times with a gas-powered BB gun.
Authorities were called to the Spring Hill home of 37-year-old Jamie Lynn Kujawa in May 2022 after a witness heard the sounds of a BB gun being fired followed by a dog yelping.
Animal enforcement officers questioned Kujawa if she owned a BB gun, to which she denied. Officers then asked Kujawa to see her dogs’ proof of vaccination, but she was unable to provide them. That’s when officers inspected the animals and noticed injuries and scarring on the feet and paws of each dog.
Kujawa claimed the dogs had recently been in a fight.
With no grounds for an arrest, Kujawa was let go with a verbal warning. However, days later, Kujawa called the sheriff’s office and said she was financially unable to take the dogs to a veterinarian. She ultimately surrendered two of the three dogs.
When the veterinarian examined the dogs, they found and removed a lead pellet from the right paw of one of the dogs. Out of an abundance of caution, both dogs were sent to a local veterinarian for X-rays.
When the first dog was x-rayed, the veterinarian found approximately 61 BBs and 19 lead pellets throughout the dog’s legs, torso, and head.
When the second dog was x-rayed, the veterinarian found approximately 71 BBs and 22 lead pellets throughout the dog’s legs, torso, and head.
A total of 173 projectiles were found between the two dogs.
On Tuesday, Kujawa was convicted of multiple counts of aggravated animal cruelty and sentenced to five years in the Department of Corrections.