Pair accused of stealing, eating dog pet

Wed Jan 23, 8:30 PM ET
HONOLULU - Two former golf club employees have been charged with theft and cruelty to animals in the death of a pet dog the owners say was cooked and eaten.

An Oahu grand jury indicted Saturnino Palting, 58, and Nelson Domingo, 43, both of Kalihi, after the Moanalua Golf Club fired them as maintenance workers.

They are charged with stealing a dog owned by Frank Manuma and his wife, Debbie Weil-Manuma. The 8-month-old German shepherd-Labrador mix named Caddy had been tied up near a maintenance shed on Dec. 16 while Frank Manuma played a round of golf.

Manuma said police told him the two men butchered and ate his pet.

The charges are both felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

"We're delighted that it's moving forward," Manuma said when told of the grand jury indictments.

He said the club had given him permission to bring the dog to the club.

Witnesses told golf club officials they saw the workers load the dog into a car and drive away at the end of their shift on Dec. 16. Both were fired after the incident.

Manuma said he and his wife considered the dog like a child they never had. When the arrest was first reported, they received expressions of sympathy and offers of new dogs from as far away as Colorado.

He said they now have a 3-month old mixed German shepherd-Golden retriever named Caddy 2.