STAR-BULLETIN / DECEMBER 2007 Debbie Weil-Manuma, left, and Frank Manuma said they loved their dog, Caddy, who is believed to have been eaten.

Pet’s owners applaud charges

Two men allegedly stole, killed, butchered and ate a beloved dog

Two former Moanalua Golf Club employees were indicted yesterday on theft charges in the butchering of a member's pet dog, which they allegedly ate.

Saturnino Palting, 58, and Nelson Domingo, 43, both of Kalihi, were indicted by an Oahu grand jury on charges of second-degree theft and first-degree cruelty to animals. Both crimes are class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Circuit Judge Steven Alm issued $20,000 bench warrants for the defendants.

"That's great news," said Frank Manuma, the dog's owner, "We're delighted that it's moving forward."

His dog Caddy was an 8-month-old German shepherd-Labrador mix.

Manuma took Caddy with him to Moanalua Golf Club on Dec. 16 and had permission to leave his pet at an equipment shack near the clubhouse while he golfed. When he went to retrieve Caddy after he finished golfing, Caddy and the leash used to keep him at the shack were gone.

Other golf club members told the golf club manager they saw maintenance workers Palting and Domingo load the dog into a car about the time they ended their shifts. The manager said he called Palting and Domingo back to work and fired them.

Manuma's wife, Debbie Weil-Manuma, said police told her and her husband that the maintenance workers confessed to taking the dog, butchering and eating it. A third man, another golf course employee who was not working that day, told police Palting and Domingo took the dog to his house, where they killed and butchered it.

The Manumas were devastated.

They never had children or a pet dog together before Caddy and considered the dog their little boy. Their story drew expressions of sympathy and offers of new dogs from people as far away as Colorado.

Manuma said he and his wife didn't want to accept a new dog because they felt it was too early after the loss of their first. But on Jan. 2, he said, they relented and accepted a 3-month-old German shepherd-Golden retriever mix.

"We wanted to do it for the people out there," Manuma said.

They named the dog Caddy 2.