Not long ago, I received a call from a resident of our county regarding the fact that someone had shot his dog. The dog was a female Husky that he had with him while he was out cutting wood. The dog had wandered a little ways away while he was busy with cutting and gathering the wood, but he did not worry, the dog was not a runner and did not chase game.

He had seen another vehicle in the area a little while earlier, but there had been nothing alarming about the situation. He was aware that the dog was not close by, but the dog was always obedient and would come when he called the animal. He did not think very much about the situation until he heard a shot that was close by.

When he heard the shot, he called for the animal, but it did not come. He went looking for it and sadly found the animal about 60 yards away in a clearing. The dog had been shot. The man did what he could for his dog, but the wound was lethal and the dog died in a short time. There was no sign of anyone around, and no one came to see what he or she had shot at. There was very little the gentleman could do.

He called the Sheriff and reported what had happened. A Deputy came and took information from him and made an inquiry to the extent he could, but there was no real evidence to point to the person responsible. The man took his dog home and buried it. Later, he came back and carefully searched the area and found what looked like a freshly expended cartridge in the area where he thought the shot had come from. He gave the cartridge to the Sheriff’s office where it is now in the evidence facility.

There may be nothing that we can do to find out who shot this dog. The Husky looked a little like wolf, and it was loose in the woods. Maybe someone thought they were killing a wolf. Maybe someone was just out shooting at what ever moved in the woods. Maybe someone was doing something mean. Maybe we will never know and be able to hold someone accountable. Not that holding anyone accountable would do much to make this any better for the man who lost a trusted and loyal companion. Luckily the 6 pups the dog had were nearly weaned and were able to survive the death of their mother. This was not a happy Christmas in that home.

Be careful in the woods. Identify what you are shooting at. Do not shoot carelessly. It might not be animal. It might be a person. It might be someone’s dog.