A family has been left devastated after a hunter shot and killed their dog when mistaking it for a coyote.
Eight-year-old malamute mix Hunter was shot in Berks County, Pennsylvania, leaving his owner Jennifer Heller heartbroken.
In a heart-wrenching post on Facebook, Heller said her dog, who had been wearing a reflective collar and harness when he was shot, had ‘suffered in pain' before passing away en-route to the vet.
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Officials in Pennsylvania have said the hunter - who has not been named - would not be facing any charges as ‘no game law violations were detected’ and it was simply a case of the hunter mistaking the dog for a coyote.
Pennsylvania Game Commission states there is no closed season for hunting coyotes as long as the hunter has the proper license.
Its website states: “Outside of any big game season (deer, bear, elk and turkey), coyotes may be taken with a hunting license or a furtaker license, and without wearing orange. During any big game season, coyotes may be taken while lawfully hunting big game or with a furtaker license.”
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Heller has said that Hunter was ‘double the size’ of a coyote - weighing 90lbs.
Heller claimed that her husband Chris had been out walking Hunter, along with their other dog Freya, when he ran into a group of hunters and got talking to them.
According to her Facebook post, Chris warned the hunters he would be letting the dogs off their leash while out on the trail and would be out of their way in several minutes' time.
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Two of the group told the others what Chris had said, Heller wrote, but before Chris, Hunter and Freya had walked away from the area, the dog was shot ‘in the gut’.
Heller claims the hunter who shot the dog stood and watched on as the rest of the group rushed into to try and help.
The family attempted to rush Hunter to the vet, but he sadly died on the way there.
Heller went on to say that she wanted the hunter to face repercussions for his actions.
In the post, she continued: “The hunter only said I thought it was a coyote. I want this hunter to lose his hunting privileges for a few years and have to take a hunter safety course before he can hunt again.”
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A spokesperson for the PA Game Commission told The Morning Call that the hunters were in 'full compliance with the law' and said that dogs in the area should use 'fluorescent vests and harnesses' when hunters were around.
However, he also said that the responsibility still laid on the hunters to positively identify their targets before they shoot, adding: "It's a fundamental rule of hunting."
The family has since launched a GoFundMe to raise money to hire a lawyer to attempt to file a civil case against the hunter.