A Giles County sheriff's deputy is on administrative leave with pay while investigators examine whether he broke the law by shooting and killing two dogs while on duty. The deputy, who serves as the sheriff's department's only animal control officer, had reportedly made several attempts over more than a week to catch the dogs, which were roaming loose with no owner willing to claim them.
According to WKRN News 2, the case began after a citizen complaint about dogs running wild in the county. Giles County Sheriff Joe Purvis said a county commissioner contacted him Thursday about the alleged shootings, and he notified the district attorney's office about the situation immediately, per District Attorney General Brent Cooper. The deputy involved has almost three decades of law-enforcement experience, the station reports.
Purvis said law-enforcement officers are held to the same standards as the public, and the Giles County Sheriff's Office said it takes animal treatment and potential misconduct allegations seriously. The sheriff's department requested an independent investigation by the office of the 22nd Judicial District, which Cooper confirmed is currently underway.
Why a Sworn Deputy Was Chasing Loose Dogs
Giles County does not run a separate civilian animal control unit — field response to roaming-dog complaints falls to designated deputies inside the Giles County Sheriff's Department, according to the Giles County Executive. County shelter listings identify Deputy Don Ward as the department's primary Animal Control Officer, the position responsible for stray pick-ups, bite reports, and cruelty investigations countywide, per the Giles County Animal Shelter. It is unclear from available reporting whether Ward is the deputy now under investigation.
That single-deputy structure covers a lot of ground. Giles County spans 611 square miles of rural southern Tennessee along the Alabama border, with roughly 30,346 residents centered on the county seat of Pulaski, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A county that size, served by one animal control officer, can make weeklong chases like this one more likely before a resolution is reached.
What a Felony Conviction Would Mean
If found guilty of a crime in connection with the shootings, the deputy could face a Class E felony, prosecutors say. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-14-212, a person commits aggravated cruelty to animals when they intentionally or knowingly kill, maim, or seriously injure a companion animal with no justifiable purpose — conduct the state classifies as a Class E felony, according to Justia Law. That charge carries a sentence of one to two years in jail.
Beyond incarceration, state law requires anyone convicted under the statute to forfeit custody of any companion animals they own and bars them from owning or housing companion animals for at least two years, per FindLaw. No charges have been filed as of this reporting, and Cooper has said only that the matter is under investigation.
A Second Deputy Referred to the Same Prosecutor
Cooper's office holds sole prosecutorial authority over four Middle Tennessee counties — Giles, Lawrence, Maury, and Wayne — as the elected chief prosecutor of the 22nd Judicial District. The referral comes just weeks after his office secured a five-count grand jury indictment against another former Giles County deputy, Stetson Thomas, who was charged in August with perjury, official misconduct, and assault following a Taser deployment inquiry, as Hoodline previously reported. Thomas had resigned in July before the indictment came down.
Sheriff Purvis, who was appointed by the Giles County Commission in November 2024 after former Sheriff Kyle Helton resigned, announced a campaign last August for a full term. Handing a second misconduct case to an outside prosecutor in as many weeks puts Purvis's department under fresh scrutiny even as he seeks to keep the seat he currently holds by appointment.
Not an Isolated Case in Tennessee
Giles County's case echoes a recent one in McNairy County, where former sheriff's deputy Connor James Brackin pleaded guilty in October 2025 to animal cruelty charges after being accused of shooting and killing multiple dogs while on duty, according to WBBJ TV. Brackin was fined, ordered to take animal cruelty classes, and lost his law enforcement certification as a result.
Nationally, Department of Justice estimates cited in academic legal research suggest law enforcement officers shoot and kill an estimated 25 to 30 dogs per day across the country, totaling roughly 10,000 canine deaths annually, per research published through the University of Tennessee Trace Repository. Whether the dogs posed any immediate threat when shots were fired in Giles County, and whether non-lethal capture equipment was used during the weeklong effort to catch them, remain open questions as Cooper's investigation continues.
