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 ...
Near is a relative term.
I live in the country and consider myself ‘near’ my home if I am a mile of my home.
I think the hunter must have been very bored because shooting a coyote is a dumb move for a deer hunter.
Assuming he was using a gun (it’s gun season) his shot scared off any deer that my have wandered into his hunting field of fire.
that was my thoughts- wolves are quite a bit stronger than coyotes bite-wise too- takes a brute of a dog to fend off or kill wolves- these dogs i think arwe built for the fight-
I agree that it was a dumb move....unless, of course, the dog was up to no good when he shot it.
Brilliant...take your dog that looks like a wolf out walking in the woods during deer season.
So should the dogs.
Hunters mistake people for deer all the time.
I can have sympathy for the Hunter if he is a farmer that has lost livestock to coyotes.
But I put most of the blame here on the dog owner.
My take on the article is that the dog owner was not on his own property with his dog off the leash and as others have said, it is stupid to be out in the woods during hunting season without Blaise Orange on. If you have your dog with you he should have on Blaise Orange also.
“Too many idiots out there hunting.”
Ain’t that the truth! In Wisconsin on opening day there are about 20 infantry divisions afield and half of them drunk.
i do believe they have their property mrked as private.
Typical in Pennsylvania. At least this time it wasn’t a cow or a small child.
PA extended deer, antlerless, regular firearms Dec. 26, 2022 - Jan. 28, 2023
Didn’t know that. Thks.
I hunt coyotes quite frequently here on my property, and they’re pretty darn cunning too.
Probably the only thing that would have made me think twice about not squeezing a round off on that dog is that finely-cared for coat....otherwise, it looks just like a darn coyote to me, especially at the usual 100+ yard distance I’m used to shooting em at. I’d have had to look long and hard thru the scope on that one as almost all of em around here are pretty mangy....just nasty-looking. This one would be a really easy mistake to make otherwise....put orange on em. I don’t want to feel bad about nailing someone’s pet.
Gotta knock down the overpopulation
The state has leash laws for everywhere, they don’t need to be posted. It’s illegal to let your dog run loose when off your property.
I’m guessing this person had a loose dog which was shot.
Sure. Dog was loose with collar and harness on. It was on state land, and hunter misidentified the dog and shot it on the hiking trail. Plenty of errors occurred, to ruin it for all.
No doubt. The dog paid the price for an irresponsible owner. The hunter may have meant to kill the dog. Hunters seem to think they are guardians of game.
I really don’t miss living near state game lands. Lots of clowns on every side.
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