Man charged with shooting, killing service dog
By Sara Powers
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DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — A Michigan man was charged after he allegedly shot and killed a service dog while his owner walked him in his driveway, state police said.
Douglas Alan Barnes, 65, of Harrietta, turned himself in at the Wexford County Jail on Friday, Jan. 5, after being informed of an arrest warrant issued by the prosecutor’s office on Dec. 29.
The incident happened at 5:20 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, on an improved driveway off of N 33 Road in Colfax Township.
The dog was an AKC-registered German Shepherd and a service dog named Smokey.
Michigan State Police say the driveway goes through federal and state forests to get to the owner’s home. The man and Smokey were about 1,000 feet away from the house when Smokey was shot while walking off-leash about 12 feet in front of the owner.
The man wore an illuminated headlamp, and Smokey wore a black collar.
According to the man, he was walking Smoking at dusk, when he heard a loud gunshot and then Smokey yelp.
Smokey went down off the edge of the driveway and died.
“The owner yelled, ‘Hey, you just shot my dog!'”, said MSP. “He did not immediately see anyone but walked to an area of his driveway where he had previously seen tire tracks earlier in the day. He confronted a man attempting to leave in a truck. The man told the owner he thought he had shot a coyote.”
When troopers spoke to the suspect, Barnes, they seized the firearm he used in the shooting, a 7MM Browning Model 81 lever action rifle with a scope. It was set on a 3X zoom.
Barnes told state police that he thought Smokey was a coyote and didn’t see anyone walking with him.
MSP says it was about 104 from where Barnes told them he was hunting to the center of the driveway where Smokey had been shot and killed.
“A search of the scope’s model number indicates at 100 yards, the field of view at 3X zoom is 40 feet,” state police said.
Barnes was charged with one count of killing/torturing animals and one count of reckless/negligent use of a firearm.
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