Alexander Gregor

The girlfriend of Alexander Gregor, 22, came home from work one day in 2008 to find him beating their German shepherd, Jake, whom had been adopted from the Hilton Head (S.C.) Humane Association. She tried to stop him, and he allegedly hit her and bit her several times. While his girlfriend ran and hid from him, he shot Jake in the head with a pellet gun and submerged his head underwater in the bathtub until he died. Gregor was arrested on a criminal domestic violence charge.

Just days after Jake’s death, Gregor adopted a German shepherd-mix puppy from another animal rescue group; he allegedly threw the puppy, Tag, against the floor until he died, according to his arrest warrant. Acting on a tip from his girlfriend, deputies uncovered the buried remains of both dogs.

Ongoing animal abuse and even torture are often the terrifying reality in homes plagued by domestic violence. Gregor was also accused of beating his girlfriend’s Husky mix and spraying cologne directly into his eyes, causing them to swell shut. Gregor pled guilty to four felony counts of animal cruelty, and he was sentenced up to the maximum of five years, required to complete anger management classes, and is forbidden to adopt an animal again in South Carolina.