Posted on 11/30/2011 9:39:57 PM PST by Altariel
STANDISH - The Maine Warden Service says it has charged a Westbrook man with shooting a dog in Standish on the last day of this year's deer hunting season. click image to enlarge
Niko, an 11-month-old Siberian husky owned by Amanda Barrett and her family, was shot Saturday in Standish after slipping out of his harness. A Westbrook man has been charged.
Edie Smith, spokeswoman for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, confirmed Wednesday that Steve Barrows, 50, of Westbrook was issued a summons Monday by Sgt. Tim Spahr on a charge of shooting a domesticated animal.
Game wardens say Barrows shot and killed the Siberian husky on Saturday, a short time after the dog slipped out of its harness and ran into woods near its home on Milt Brown Road.
(Excerpt) Read more at pressherald.com ...
It’s a shame that this family lost their dog. I hope the hunter does the decent thing and gets them a new one.
How could anyone mistake a husky for a coyote from fifteen feet away (maximum)?
“How could anyone mistake a husky for a coyote from fifteen feet away?”
Even I know the difference between a husky and a coyote (and I live in an urban area). Just my opinion, but the whole “I thought it was a coyote going to attack me” story is something the shooter came up with later. I have the strong feeling that he heard a noise and just shot. If a child or an adult had been in the woods, he would have shot as well.
Somehow got out of his harness. I bet they just let him run. Stupid, especially knowing hunting season is open. Being a dog lover doesn’t mean that you are a responsible pet owner.
I hunt deer an average of 25 days during the season (for 15 straight years) and we see dogs running loose. We alert the owners three times. Three visits with firm pleas to keep the animal safe during deer season is what it usually takes before they take their responsibility as pet owners seriously.
However, I don’t excuse the hunter in this story.
most people who live in areas where hunters are, are usually smart enough to put blaze orange on their animals.
i agree, that it doesn’t excuse the hunter, but owners need to be responsible too.
The local animal control officer is vouching for the responsibility of the dog owner. If what he is saying is true, this may be the first time that the dog slipped its harness:
Jack Freitas, Standish’s animal control officer, assisted wardens with their investigation of Saturday’s shooting. He said Niko’s body was found in woods off Route 25.
“The dog had been shot once in the torso,” said Freitas, who secured the scene and waited for wardens to arrive.
Freitas said he is familiar with the family that owned Niko. He said the dog somehow slipped out of its harness, which is why it was running free in the woods.
“They are extremely responsible dog owners,” Freitas said. “I’m the animal control officer, and sometimes my dog gets loose.”
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