Man, 73, rode lawnmower to spring poodle from pound

A Hydro man sprung his poodle from the pound using a lawnmower and bolt cutters, only to land himself behind bars with no one to rescue him. And while he was in jail, his dog was put back in the pound and euthanized. Edwin Fry, 73, said he wasn't going to let Buddy Tough rot in jail, but he didn't intend to pay the $100 fine to free him. Instead, on Oct. 13 he drove his lawnmower to the town's kennel, cut through the cage with a large pair of bolt cutters and started making his way home with Buddy Tough on his lap.

Fry's not denying what he did. He warned police to stay away from his dog and meant it, he said. "I told them 'I don't advise you take my dog unless you want to face my shotgun,'" Fry said. "They told me they were going to kill him — so there was no choice but to take matters into my own hands." Buddy Tough had already been in the city pound once before. That time, Fry paid the $50 fine and had him released. The second offence would be a $100 fine, but Fry was told he could retrieve his dog, take the citation and sort out the fine in court, Chancellor said.



"I've been in law enforcement 20 years, and this is the first time I've known of anyone that has busted a dog out of jail," Hydro police officer Chris Chancellor said. Chancellor said he saw Fry leaving the kennel with the dog, but didn't stop him right away. "He'd threatened to shoot us before, so I approached him with caution," Chancellor said. "I was afraid he might have had a rifle with him."Once Fry stopped, Chancellor held him at gunpoint.

"He stood up and had the dog in one arm and dropped the 3-foot bolt cutters he had in the other hand," Chancellor said. Fry was arrested on complaints of second-degree burglary, trespassing and destruction of city property. Fry spent several days in jail. His bail was set at $1,000 requiring a $100 deposit to a bondsman for release, but no one seemed willing to put up the money, Chancellor said. Eventually, a Hydro resident came to his rescue. While Fry was in jail, the dog was euthanized.