[user104658]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

I can't believe people have sympathy for this man, it wasn't a case of him just snapping one day, it was obviously premeditated. Would ANYONE have thought to remove the micro chip if they had just snapped? No, they wouldn't.

How was it "obviously" premeditated? And again (again, and again) he removed the chip AFTER killing the dog not BEFORE so it has absolutely no relevance to whether or not he had snapped when he actually killed it. None at all. Disposing of the dog and covering up the act was planned, and carried out in a way that some might consider mercenary. That's a completely different discussion.

I'd say if it was "premeditated" he would have had a solid plan for disposing of the dog afterwards, rather than failing to do so twice and ultimately being found with it on his property. That strongly suggests that he hadn't thought it through at all.