Lawton doctor pleads guilty to killing daughter’s dog

A Lawton doctor entered a blind guilty plea to allegations he killed his daughter’s puppy in front of her shortly before Christmas Day 2022.

Daniel Moses Garrison, 38, entered his plea to a felony count of cruelty to animals before Comanche County Chief District Judge Scott D. Meaders, records indicate.

Meaders sentenced Garrison to a four-year deferred sentence and as part of his sentence, he must continue supervision under the Oklahoma Health Professionals Program (OHPP) as well as pay $2,725.25 in fines and court costs.

According to a letter submitted by the Oklahoma Health Professionals Program, Garrison is under 28 random drug/alcohol screens and must participate in weekly meeting as well as three support group meetings. The letter states he has attended 85 percent of his meetings.

Garrison was charged after two witnesses reported Garrison on Dec. 19, 2022, for hitting a dog with a blunt object while hearing a young girl crying and screaming “No! No! No!” the probable cause affidavit states.

Each witness said the beating and cries went on for about 20 minutes before a man wearing gray medical scrubs was seen running toward a wooded area. The man was carrying a small dog by its neck with one hand and, once at the tree line, spun in a circle to gain momentum and threw the dog into the brush, the affidavit states. They said they found a small black and tan dog dead in the area after the man walked away.

The men filmed cellphone video of the incident.

Garrison, who was wearing gray medical scrubs, “acted as though he was unaware” as to why investigators were speaking with him, according to Medina. When showed video of him throwing the dog, Garrison said, “It’s a person that looks like me,” the affidavit states. When told the girl was heard crying during the beating, the deputy stated Garrison replied, “My daughter wasn’t with me. She was at her dad’s.”

With his plea, Garrison has taken responsibility for the dog’s death.

Garrison, who practices family medicine, was released on $2,500 bond following his Jan. 5 initial appearance in Comanche County District Court.