Posted on 01/16/2023 7:20:34 AM PST by BenLurkin
Chris Heller was walking his two dogs in the woods near his house on Jan. 7 when his 8-year-old malamute mix Hunter was shot by a deer hunter, his wife Jennifer Heller said in an online post.
Chris Heller rushed to get the pup to an emergency vet but he didn’t make the trip. Hunter died on the way, she said.
“Hunter was an incredibly sweet and intelligent dog — gentle with the Hellers’ young grandchildren, immediate best buddies with the other animals in the home, and a loving companion who would do anything for a good piece of cheese,” Jennifer Heller wrote.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission, however, said the hunter won’t face any charges or disciplinary measures because he made a mistake, thinking the beloved family pet was a coyote, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
If he was walking with his dogs, then the hunter must have shot pretty near the owner.
I own a Great Pyrenees dog. GREAT defender. One killed 8 coyotes recently.
A friend of my family did this, except it was the family cat, and he mistook it for a rabbit.
Or the owner didn’t have the dogs on a leash.
It is hunting season for deer until today. I feel bad for the dog but the owner should have stayed the F out of the woods during the season.
Walking dogs can mean letting g them roam quite a distance if one is in the country, which it seems this was the case. Folks take dogs for walks around d us and thst means allowing the dog to run, explore, and do their thing.
My maltipoo is safe from this guy. But we live in the woods and occasionally can hear coyotes howling within a couple hundred yards of our house. Whenever we let him out we always talk loudly so that any coyotes leave the area. And last night they sounded so close we actually used a leash anyway.
But yeah, that dog looks an awfully lot like a Coyote, especially if making a split decision. Sad for both parties. At least no humans died.
People walking dogs near hunting should have orange vests on them - and on themselves.
Missing data.
Was it his property?
Did he know people hunt that property?
Dog off the leash?
Or the hunter shouldn't be hunting deer in neighborhoods.
If that dog was off-leash and I was out hunting coyote, I would think that that animal was a coyote, too.
Sad outcome. Owner is probably kicking himself...
I'm reminded of that Rambo yahoo who last year killed the lady out walking her dogs on her own property. Or the yahoo who killed the lady hanging wash on her clothes line.
Some people should not be out hunting at all, ever, period.
Exactly. It was a lack of awareness likely by the owner that it was wven hunting season. we never let our dogs roam during hunting season- but we grew up in hunting country, so we knew things to do and to avoid.
The dog in the photo above looks like a coyote, especially from a bit of a distance I’m sure. We would run across hikers when we went out Hunting, who had no clue it was even hunting season, and would wear things like white hats, or coats or mittens.
my sister has hunters come on to her property all the time, she has to tell them to get away.
She’s 85-she’s not running around in her woods. they get awfully close to her house, and i can’t tell ya what she would do if they shot her dog.
“Oh, my bad”
People also need to respect boundaries.
They are great dogS. If I had a ranch I’d definately have a few guarding the other animals.
I once mistook a coyote for a dog.
I truly don’t care about pets but when I saw a dog trot by with a large mayonnaise jar on his head I followed it, hoping to remove it.
When I got closer the mangy coat and big bushy tail told me it was a coyote and I walked away.
This one is on the dog owner. If you care about your dog, get some orange on it.
Probably a polite way of saying the dog owner was trespassing.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/HMGXR7QKYNCBNBDR3H7WP2DF5M.jpeg)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.