Teacher Charged With Beating Adopted Dog to Death

A Chicago man, a teacher, was arrested after telling police he'd beaten his newly adopted dog to death.

Derek Fierro, 25, said he arrived at his home early Friday morning and found the dog had eaten every piece of paper in the house and defecated on itself. When the dog resisted as Fierro tried to put it in the bathtub to wash it, he became angry and beat it to death with his fists, according to police.

The 4th grade teacher at Eugene Field Elementary School, in the Rogers Park neighborhood, called police at about 3 a.m. and gave officers the code to his garage and permission to enter. Police said they found the dead dog, a yellow lab named Doc, in the trunk.

A spokeswoman from the Chicago Canine Rescue Foundation, from where Fierro adopted the animal, said the organization was devastated by the news.

"It’s so unfortunate how this ended up,” said Lisa Klotnia. "This guy could have called us at any time to help him out."

Fierro faces one felony count of aggravated cruelty to an animal. He'll appear in bond court on Saturday.

A CPS spokesman said the district was "aware of the allegations," and said the case is under investigation.

Klotnia said Doc was named after one of the seven dwarfs and was one of seven dogs the Chicago Canine Rescue took from a shelter in Oklahoma about a year ago.