DUSON, La. — A 49-year-old Duson man has been arrested on multiple counts of animal cruelty after authorities say he shot and killed two dogs Friday morning in Lafayette Parish.
According to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, Damon Labbe was taken into custody following reports of two dead dogs near his residence.
The animals — a 4-year-old golden retriever named Buddy and an 8-year-old rat terrier named Poupe — belonged to 76-year-old Gerald Trahan. Trahan said he had visited Labbe’s home Friday morning and accidentally left the dogs in the yard. After realizing his mistake, he called Labbe to say he was returning to retrieve them.
“I said, Damon, I left my dogs. I’m coming back to pick them up. And he said, ‘I just shot a dog,’” Trahan recalled.
When Trahan returned to the property, he found Buddy dead. He later searched for his second dog with help from his wife and a neighbor. The rat terrier was eventually discovered in the grass nearby.
A neighbor who assisted in the search said Labbe told her he believed the dogs belonged to another neighbor and claimed he felt remorse afterward. She responded that there was no justification for shooting the animals.
The neighbor described both dogs as gentle companions who frequently accompanied Trahan wherever he went.
Trahan said he has struggled to sleep in the days since the incident, calling the loss devastating and expressing hope that no one else experiences similar heartbreak.
Labbe has since been released from custody on a $5,000 bond. The case remains under investigation.
