Man who hit dog is animal lover, family says

A man who hit a dog with a machete and hammer in McClellanville is an animal lover who was trying to end the dog's suffering after accidentally hitting it with his pickup truck, family members said Friday.

William T. Youngman, 57, of McClellanville suffered multiple skull fractures when he was attacked by the dog's owner, James Brian Kennedy, 42, of McClellanville, authorities said. Kennedy took the hammer from Youngman and hit him with it, according to a sheriff's report.

"He (father) felt it was in the dog's best interest to try to put it out of its misery," his son, Nathan Youngman, said.

Youngman's daughter, Holland Youngman, 25, of James Island said her father lives in a rural area where there is no veterinarian nearby. He did not have a gun to end the dog's pain, she said.

"He cannot stand suffering," his daughter said. "He's the victim here. We feel horrible about the dog. He's being presented as someone brutalizing animals, which could not be further from the truth."

Her parents have two rescue dogs, she said. "Every dog that they have had has been a rescue dog," she said.

Youngman was listed in fair condition in the intensive care unit at the Medical University Hospital on Friday afternoon.

The dog, which suffered a spinal chord injury, was euthanized Friday night.

The Sheriff's Office said animal cruelty charges against Youngman are still pending.

Holland Youngman said her father suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung for which doctors inserted a chest tube Friday. Doctors have not given the family a prognosis for Youngman's recovery, but the family said Youngman is conscious, alert and able to talk about what happened Thursday morning. "Overall, he's still in pretty bad shape," Nathan Youngman told Charleston County Magistrate Linda Lombard.

On Friday morning, Lombard set bail at $25,000 for Kennedy on a charge of assault and battery with intent to kill. "I think we've got some good people here with a lot of overreaction," Lombard said. As a condition of Kennedy's bond, he was barred from having any contact with Youngman or his family. "Let everyone cool down and handle this intelligently," she said.

At the bail hearing, Kennedy's mother, Helen Kennedy, said her son is a licensed residential home builder who is hard-working and responsible. "His passion got the best of him. He's not a dangerous person," she told Lombard. She said her son found the dog, named Dingo, on his property and worked for 10 months to gain its confidence so it would accept food from him.

Kennedy's brother, Greg Kennedy, said his brother is a very kind person. "He didn't mean to cause any harm or to inflict any serious injury," Greg Kennedy said.

After the bond hearing, Greg Kennedy said that Dingo was up and walking after being hit by the truck. However, Brian Kennedy did not realize that Youngman had first hit the dog with his truck when he saw Youngman striking the dog with a machete and hammer, Greg Kennedy said.

"I'm very sorry this man is injured. That's terrible," Helen Kennedy told reporters.

Veterinarians at the Charleston Animal Society recommended that Dingo be euthanized, said Kay Hyman, the society's director of outreach and communications.

The dog was put down at 9 p.m. Friday.

The dog was "semi-feral," she said. His wild nature made it difficult to effectively treat his spinal cord injury.

Dingo was heavily sedated, but when he came out of sedation he flailed about because he doesn't trust humans. That pulled out stitches while further injuring him, she said.

"He (Kennedy) got out of jail and met our staff at the emergency clinic, and our staff persuaded him to have the dog euthanized," Hyman said.

David MacDougall contributed to this report.Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postand courier.com.