YORK (AP) — A hunter has been charged with fatally shooting a family’s dog in southern Maine.

Gregory Brown, 39, says he mistook the dog for a coyote.

Matthew and Heather Henriksen of York say their 5- year-old mixed-breed dog bled to death on Dec. 27 after a bullet from a .22-caliber rifle severed an artery on her back leg. They say they were walking with the dog on a trail behind their home when the dog ran ahead and was shot.

The Maine Warden Service says Brown faces criminal charges that carry a fine.

Comments are not available on this story.