YORK — Officials say charges are likely to be filed after a hunter fatally shot a family dog in southern Maine.

Matthew and Heather Henriksen of York say their 5-year-old mixed-breed dog bled to death Tuesday after a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle severed an artery on her back leg.

The Portsmouth Herald says a hunter told wardens he was hunting red squirrel in a wooded area behind the Henriksens’ home when he mistook the dog for a coyote. It’s legal to hunt red squirrels and coyotes year-round.

The Maine Warden Service says charges are likely to be filed in the coming days, but that the name of the hunter isn’t being released because the case is under investigation.


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