An Ohio hunter is facing charges after he allegedly shot two pet dogs, say local reports.
Pete Byers, the pet owner, said he was taking out his two dogs on a trip to Pittsburgh when they disappeared.
Several neighbors and friends were called in to look for the dogs, 5-year-old Emmy and 6-year-old Bella, according to KFOR.
“I turned around to lock that gate. I turned around my dogs were gone,” Byers explained to WDTN. “And it’s the opening day of gun season so I’m like dying inside. I’m scared to death.”
Hunters told Byers they heard shots and a dog yelp. They found tracks that allegedly led to Michael Chedester’s tree stand about 800 yards away.
“I asked him, ‘Did you kill my dogs, man? I want to know so I can bury them.’ Meanwhile, he keeps eyeing this new brush pile, that’s new and fresh,” Byers said. “Then he kind of looks down his nose at me and says ‘Yeah, I killed your dogs. You want me to buy you two new ones? I’ll buy you two new dogs.”
According to WSB-TV, Chedester was identified as a potential suspect. Chedester will be charged with two felony charges of prohibitions concerning companion animals, and he'll face a maximum sentence of one year in prison on each count.
Chedester, in a Facebook post, wrote: “I told Pete I‘d buy him two new dogs. The most I’ll spend is a couple weeks in jail, most likely. Let’s get through this together, as a community. The last thing we need right now is a lot of community resentment, and I’m trying to make nice with the irresponsible dog owner who let his ‘beloved companions’ run wild during hunting season, the jackass.”
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