STANDISH — A Westbrook deer hunter has been summonsed by the Maine Warden’s Service for shooting a family’s pet on Saturday, the last day of hunting season.

Edie Smith, a spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said Steve Barrows, 50, of Westbrook was summonsed Tuesday for shooting a domesticated animal.

The infraction is a civil violation that could carry a fine or involve jail time depending on the outcome of the warden service investigation, Smith said.

Barrows allegedly shot an 11-month-old Siberian Husky named Niko, which slipped out of its harness and ran into woods near its owners’ home on Milt Brown Road Saturday morning.

Melissa West said she spoke to Barrows by telephone Tuesday night after he called her family to apologize. West said Barrows, who had been deering hunting with a friend, thought Niko was a coyote.

West said his apology was hollow because he left the dog’s body in the woods.

“I said the least you could have done was take the dog out of the woods,” West said.

A local logger, whose name was unavailable, apparently witnessed the shooting and reported it to authorities after the dog’s owners put up posters with Niko’s photograph around town.

Copy the Story Link