WYALUSING -- A farmer in Bradford County ended up shooting and killing his neighbor's dog and humane officers say he will not face any animal cruelty charges.
Brook Allen had just moved in here along Paradise Road two days ago with her dog Bentley. The husky/lab mix wandered into the neighbor's yard in Wyalusing, where he was shot.
"I rushed home to find him underneath the porch and I crawled under there with him and he wouldn't move, and he was starting to close his eyes," said Allen.
Kylie Roberts lives across the road and followed a blood trail to find the pup hidden underneath this porch.
"He just looked at me like 'what'd I do?' The hole in the right front shoulder was the size of the bottom of a solo cup and it went right through under his spine," said Roberts.
The pup died on the way to the vet.
Ralph Newton is a farmer in Wyalusing and says he shot the next door neighbor's dog after trying to shoo the strange animal away from his home and his daughter's pet bunnies.
"He was going right after the pen. If he could have gotten it tipped over they could have gotten to them pretty easily then," said Newton.
"That dog was like my child, you know what I mean. It wasn't just a stray dog running around that dog was my kid, my baby," said Allen.
Because the dog was on this property without a leash, humane officers say criminal charges won't be filed, but neighbors wish something more would be done.
"It disgusts me. It disgusts me to know that there's no compassion left in the world today," said Roberts.
Newton says he feels terrible about shooting the dog.
"I do. That was my biggest fear that it was someone's actual pet, I didn't know. We have pets, I have animals, I've been around animals all my life. I've never shot a dog before," said Newton.
Newton says he's willing to replace the dog, but knows it won't change what's happened.
We've reported a similar story here on Newswatch 16 in Montour County. A woman was charged with animal cruelty for shooting a dog that attacked her animals. Police say the difference in that case was that the dog was tied up after attacking some rabbits and then shot when there was no immediate danger.