Justice for Injured Dog Shot by New Mexico Deputy
Justice for Injured Dog Shot by New Mexico Deputy
The Issue
An injured dog needed a veterinarian. A witness says a sheriff’s deputy gave it a violent death instead. We demand criminal charges, termination, decertification, and independent oversight if these allegations are substantiated.
A horrifying allegation has emerged from San Juan County, New Mexico.
According to eyewitness Eileen Leyva Tarango, a dog was struck by a vehicle near Salmon Ruins. The animal was still alive. Concerned citizens wanted to locate its owner and get it veterinary treatment.
Instead of allowing them to help, a responding sheriff’s deputy allegedly ordered them away and killed the dog by shooting it.
When another Facebook user asked whether the deputy really shot the animal to death, Eileen replied:
“yes there was blood everywhere….”
Witnesses identified Daryl Cunningham.
Public employment records confirm that a person by that name worked as a San Juan County deputy in 2025. His involvement in this particular incident has not yet been independently verified.
But these allegations are specific, deeply disturbing, and serious enough to demand immediate action.
WHAT KIND OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WOULD DENY AN INJURED ANIMAL A CHANCE AT MEDICAL CARE AND THEN KILL IT WITH A KNIFE?
That is the question Sheriff Shane Ferrari and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office must answer.
An officer’s badge does not confer the right to inflict unnecessary suffering. It does not excuse cruelty. And it does not transform an unjustified killing into a lawful act of mercy.
Emergency euthanasia can be justified under narrowly defined circumstances. But if an officer deliberately shot a treatable animal to death while preventing others from helping it, the public has every right to demand that the officer never wear a badge again.
THIS IS NOT JUST AN ANIMAL WELFARE ISSUE. IT IS A QUESTION OF WHO WE ALLOW TO EXERCISE POWER OVER THE VULNERABLE.
An animal cannot challenge an officer’s authority. It cannot file a complaint. It cannot call an attorney. It is entirely at the mercy of the human beings standing over it.
And that is precisely why cruelty toward a helpless animal by someone entrusted with public authority must be treated with extraordinary seriousness.
THE LAW DOES NOT EXEMPT SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES FROM ACCOUNTABILITY.
Under New Mexico Statute § 30-18-1, unjustified animal killing can constitute criminal animal cruelty. Malicious killing or qualifying extreme cruelty can constitute a fourth-degree felony.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has also recognized that the unjustified killing of a person’s dog by law enforcement may violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable seizures.
And New Mexico’s law enforcement certification system provides mechanisms for disciplining officers who engage in qualifying brutality, violence, or abuse of authority.
A BADGE IS NOT A LICENSE TO BE CRUEL.
WE DEMAND THE FOLLOWING:
1. IMMEDIATE INDEPENDENT CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office must not be the sole judge of its own deputy’s alleged conduct. The incident must be referred for independent investigation, including possible violations of New Mexico’s animal cruelty statutes.
2. TERMINATION OF DEPUTY DARYL CUNNINGHAM IF THE ALLEGATIONS ARE PROVEN.
If the evidence establishes that Cunningham unlawfully killed this animal, he should be fired. Not quietly reassigned. Not shielded behind an administrative excuse. Fired.
3. REVOCATION OF HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT CERTIFICATION WHERE WARRANTED.
An officer dismissed for substantiated serious animal cruelty should not simply be allowed to move to another department and continue exercising police authority. We demand review by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board.
4. CRIMINAL PROSECUTION TO THE FULLEST EXTENT SUPPORTED BY LAW.
If the evidence supports misdemeanor animal cruelty or felony extreme animal cruelty, prosecutors must pursue the appropriate charges. Public employment must never become a shield against criminal accountability.
5. RELEASE AND PRESERVATION OF ALL EVIDENCE.
Preserve body-camera footage, dash-camera recordings, dispatch audio, incident reports, witness statements, photographs, veterinary communications, and records concerning the animal’s remains. Release all records legally subject to disclosure.
6. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF SHERIFF SHANE FERRARI’S DEPARTMENT.
The public deserves to know whether this was an isolated allegation or part of a broader failure in training, supervision, animal-response procedures, or accountability.
7. FEDERAL REVIEW WHERE JURISDICTION EXISTS.
We demand that the U.S. Department of Justice assess whether the incident, the dog’s ownership circumstances, or additional evidence establishes grounds for a federal civil-rights investigation or broader review of unconstitutional departmental practices.
SHERIFF FERRARI: THE PUBLIC IS WATCHING.
Your department has an opportunity to demonstrate that accountability means something.
Identify the responding officer. Preserve the evidence. Refer the allegations to independent investigators. Explain what legal and medical justification, if any, existed for the dog’s death.
Do not allow this incident to disappear into an internal report that the public never sees.
AND TO DEPUTY DARYL CUNNINGHAM: IF THE WITNESS’S ACCOUNT IS TRUE, YOU SHOULD NEVER AGAIN BE ENTRUSTED WITH THE AUTHORITY OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.
TAKE ACTION NOW — MAKE THE CALLS.
SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Demand that Sheriff Shane Ferrari initiate an independent investigation and terminate the responsible deputy if the allegations are substantiated.
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Demand an independent assessment of potential criminal animal cruelty and official misconduct.
NEW MEXICO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY / CERTIFICATION AUTHORITIES
Demand a formal certification-misconduct review and revocation if the evidence and applicable law warrant it.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE — CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
Request federal review of any constitutional violations and evidence of a qualifying pattern of misconduct.
ANIMAL PROTECTION NEW MEXICO — CRUELTY HELPLINE
Report the allegations and request independent animal-welfare advocacy and investigative assistance.
THIS DOG HAD NO VOICE. WE DO.
We do not know whether this dog belonged to a child, an elderly person, or a family desperately searching for their missing companion.
We do know that a witness has described an animal dying violently when people were trying to help.
That allegation deserves an investigation, not indifference.
If the witness is telling the truth, someone entrusted with enforcing the law may have committed the very kind of cruelty the law exists to prevent.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT A BADGE AS AN EXCUSE.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT A COVER-UP.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT AN OFFICER KEEPING HIS AUTHORITY IF HE IS FOUND RESPONSIBLE FOR UNLAWFUL ANIMAL CRUELTY.
We demand evidence. We demand transparency. We demand criminal accountability wherever warranted.
And if the allegations are proven, we demand termination, decertification, and prosecution.
SIGN THE PETITION. CALL THE AGENCIES. DEMAND ANSWERS. SHARE UNTIL THE AUTHORITIES RESPOND.
Justice for the dog killed near Salmon Ruins.
NO BADGE ABOVE THE LAW. NO CRUELTY WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.
43
The Issue
An injured dog needed a veterinarian. A witness says a sheriff’s deputy gave it a violent death instead. We demand criminal charges, termination, decertification, and independent oversight if these allegations are substantiated.
A horrifying allegation has emerged from San Juan County, New Mexico.
According to eyewitness Eileen Leyva Tarango, a dog was struck by a vehicle near Salmon Ruins. The animal was still alive. Concerned citizens wanted to locate its owner and get it veterinary treatment.
Instead of allowing them to help, a responding sheriff’s deputy allegedly ordered them away and killed the dog by shooting it.
When another Facebook user asked whether the deputy really shot the animal to death, Eileen replied:
“yes there was blood everywhere….”
Witnesses identified Daryl Cunningham.
Public employment records confirm that a person by that name worked as a San Juan County deputy in 2025. His involvement in this particular incident has not yet been independently verified.
But these allegations are specific, deeply disturbing, and serious enough to demand immediate action.
WHAT KIND OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WOULD DENY AN INJURED ANIMAL A CHANCE AT MEDICAL CARE AND THEN KILL IT WITH A KNIFE?
That is the question Sheriff Shane Ferrari and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office must answer.
An officer’s badge does not confer the right to inflict unnecessary suffering. It does not excuse cruelty. And it does not transform an unjustified killing into a lawful act of mercy.
Emergency euthanasia can be justified under narrowly defined circumstances. But if an officer deliberately shot a treatable animal to death while preventing others from helping it, the public has every right to demand that the officer never wear a badge again.
THIS IS NOT JUST AN ANIMAL WELFARE ISSUE. IT IS A QUESTION OF WHO WE ALLOW TO EXERCISE POWER OVER THE VULNERABLE.
An animal cannot challenge an officer’s authority. It cannot file a complaint. It cannot call an attorney. It is entirely at the mercy of the human beings standing over it.
And that is precisely why cruelty toward a helpless animal by someone entrusted with public authority must be treated with extraordinary seriousness.
THE LAW DOES NOT EXEMPT SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES FROM ACCOUNTABILITY.
Under New Mexico Statute § 30-18-1, unjustified animal killing can constitute criminal animal cruelty. Malicious killing or qualifying extreme cruelty can constitute a fourth-degree felony.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals has also recognized that the unjustified killing of a person’s dog by law enforcement may violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable seizures.
And New Mexico’s law enforcement certification system provides mechanisms for disciplining officers who engage in qualifying brutality, violence, or abuse of authority.
A BADGE IS NOT A LICENSE TO BE CRUEL.
WE DEMAND THE FOLLOWING:
1. IMMEDIATE INDEPENDENT CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.
The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office must not be the sole judge of its own deputy’s alleged conduct. The incident must be referred for independent investigation, including possible violations of New Mexico’s animal cruelty statutes.
2. TERMINATION OF DEPUTY DARYL CUNNINGHAM IF THE ALLEGATIONS ARE PROVEN.
If the evidence establishes that Cunningham unlawfully killed this animal, he should be fired. Not quietly reassigned. Not shielded behind an administrative excuse. Fired.
3. REVOCATION OF HIS LAW ENFORCEMENT CERTIFICATION WHERE WARRANTED.
An officer dismissed for substantiated serious animal cruelty should not simply be allowed to move to another department and continue exercising police authority. We demand review by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board.
4. CRIMINAL PROSECUTION TO THE FULLEST EXTENT SUPPORTED BY LAW.
If the evidence supports misdemeanor animal cruelty or felony extreme animal cruelty, prosecutors must pursue the appropriate charges. Public employment must never become a shield against criminal accountability.
5. RELEASE AND PRESERVATION OF ALL EVIDENCE.
Preserve body-camera footage, dash-camera recordings, dispatch audio, incident reports, witness statements, photographs, veterinary communications, and records concerning the animal’s remains. Release all records legally subject to disclosure.
6. INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF SHERIFF SHANE FERRARI’S DEPARTMENT.
The public deserves to know whether this was an isolated allegation or part of a broader failure in training, supervision, animal-response procedures, or accountability.
7. FEDERAL REVIEW WHERE JURISDICTION EXISTS.
We demand that the U.S. Department of Justice assess whether the incident, the dog’s ownership circumstances, or additional evidence establishes grounds for a federal civil-rights investigation or broader review of unconstitutional departmental practices.
SHERIFF FERRARI: THE PUBLIC IS WATCHING.
Your department has an opportunity to demonstrate that accountability means something.
Identify the responding officer. Preserve the evidence. Refer the allegations to independent investigators. Explain what legal and medical justification, if any, existed for the dog’s death.
Do not allow this incident to disappear into an internal report that the public never sees.
AND TO DEPUTY DARYL CUNNINGHAM: IF THE WITNESS’S ACCOUNT IS TRUE, YOU SHOULD NEVER AGAIN BE ENTRUSTED WITH THE AUTHORITY OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.
TAKE ACTION NOW — MAKE THE CALLS.
SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Demand that Sheriff Shane Ferrari initiate an independent investigation and terminate the responsible deputy if the allegations are substantiated.
NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Demand an independent assessment of potential criminal animal cruelty and official misconduct.
NEW MEXICO LAW ENFORCEMENT ACADEMY / CERTIFICATION AUTHORITIES
Demand a formal certification-misconduct review and revocation if the evidence and applicable law warrant it.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE — CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION
Request federal review of any constitutional violations and evidence of a qualifying pattern of misconduct.
ANIMAL PROTECTION NEW MEXICO — CRUELTY HELPLINE
Report the allegations and request independent animal-welfare advocacy and investigative assistance.
THIS DOG HAD NO VOICE. WE DO.
We do not know whether this dog belonged to a child, an elderly person, or a family desperately searching for their missing companion.
We do know that a witness has described an animal dying violently when people were trying to help.
That allegation deserves an investigation, not indifference.
If the witness is telling the truth, someone entrusted with enforcing the law may have committed the very kind of cruelty the law exists to prevent.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT A BADGE AS AN EXCUSE.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT A COVER-UP.
WE WILL NOT ACCEPT AN OFFICER KEEPING HIS AUTHORITY IF HE IS FOUND RESPONSIBLE FOR UNLAWFUL ANIMAL CRUELTY.
We demand evidence. We demand transparency. We demand criminal accountability wherever warranted.
And if the allegations are proven, we demand termination, decertification, and prosecution.
SIGN THE PETITION. CALL THE AGENCIES. DEMAND ANSWERS. SHARE UNTIL THE AUTHORITIES RESPOND.
Justice for the dog killed near Salmon Ruins.
NO BADGE ABOVE THE LAW. NO CRUELTY WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.
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Petition created on October 15, 2026