El Paso Firefighter Accused of Viciously Poisoning Dogs and Cats

Here's the perfect example of a total douchebag. In fact, douchebag isn't even the right term. Evil piece of s**t is much more fitting.

Firefighter Shawn Michael Hanke, 48, of El Paso, Texas was arrested and charged with six counts of animal cruelty resulting in death. He's accused of purposely leaving out poisoned cat food for animals to eat this past May. His neighbors become suspicious of his activity, leading to an investigation by the El Paso Police Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit.

According to The Daily Beast, Hanke surrendered to officers and was booked on a $15,000 bond. One can only hope that he was unable to make the bond, but it's currently unclear.

KFOX 14 reports that Hanke allegedly used ibuprofen to poison several animals in the neighborhood. At least two animals were found with white foam and a pink substance around their mouths, according to an affidavit from a neighbor who said they saw Hanke place a plate of food on a home's porch. Hanke denied knowing how or why ibuprofen was in the food he left, KFOX reports, but admitted he did leave the plate of food for the cats.

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If Hanke is convicted of the crimes of which he's accused, he could face up to 10 years in prison. The third-degree felony also carries up to a $10,000 fine. Here's to hoping they throw the book at him.

It's important to remember that even people in positions of authority and leadership, such as fighting fires and saving lives, are not always guilt-free when it comes to heinous crimes. Also: people are innocent until proven guilty.

Poisoning innocent animals is something quite hard for a normal person to understand. If an animal is causing you problems, the best course of action is to contact your local animal control and never try to take matters into your own hands. There are people out there who can help if you're being pestered by neighborhood pets. Killing them is never the right choice. One would hope that a firefighter would know better than to do something so obscene.

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