WATERBORO — It will be up to the office of the York County District Attorney whether to file charges in connection with the shooting of a dog on Townhouse Road last week. The animal, a 3-year-old Rottweiler named Tyson, is recovering after surgery to repair a leg bone shattered by the gunshot, but remained in the animal hospital Monday, six days after the mishap.
Waterboro Animal Control Officer Wade Andrews said he had completed his reports on the incident, and turned them over to the district attorney.
The dog was shot July 17. Owners Melissa and Glenn Carter had let Tyson and their other dog, Harley, 4, out that morning.
“They usually stay in the yard,” said Melissa Carter, but she said they took off that morning and came back about 10 minutes later, Tyson on three legs.
“I thought he had broken a leg,” said Carter.
But a trip to a Hollis veterinarian and a set of X-rays revealed something else: Tyson had been shot.
“I was in tears when I heard that,” she said.
They took Tyson off to a veterinary surgeon in Norway to have the leg repaired.
Carter contacted Andrews, whom she said later told her that her neighbor had been eating breakfast in his home when he saw the dogs on the property and went outside. Then, he allegedly shot the animal.
“He acted like my dog was charging him,” Carter said in a telephone interview Saturday.
Andrews, reached Monday, said the neighbor saw the two dogs in his yard, went outside to investigate, and Tyson came over to him. Andrews said the man felt the dogs were aggressive, so he fired a shot and allegedly told Andrews he was trying to scare the animal.
State statutes say it is unlawful for dogs to run at large, but there is no state leash law. State laws allow municipalities to adopt leash laws, and Waterboro’s ordinance requires dogs to be leashed or under voice control.
Andrews said he had never received any complaints about the Carter’s dogs.
“It’s a very unfortunate situation,” said Andrews.
Carter said she and her husband have lived in their home six years and never had any trouble, before last Wednesday. She said the neighbor could have called or visited them and told them he didn’t want their dogs on his property.
“We had no warning the guy had any problem” with the animals, she said. “We’ve never had a complaint from anyone.”
The York County Sheriff’s Office supported Andrews in his investigation, said Chief Deputy Bill King.
The incident is the second dog shooting in Waterboro this year. In an unrelated incident in March, sheriff’s deputies filed felony animal cruelty charges against Nancy Clough, 48, of Federal Street, after she allegedly shot and killed a dog she claimed had been acting aggressively. The woman, who called police to report she’d shot the dog, said she went back into her home after encountering the animal outside, loaded a 30-30 rifle and then shot the animal. A court appearance scheduled for May did not take place, and an assistant district attorney said the case remained under investigation.
Carter said she expects Tyson’s vet bills will be about $3,000. She said she’d like to see the man charged and ordered to pay restitution.
“If I saw a dog in my yard, I’d stay inside and call someone,” said Carter. “We never had any warning this guy had any problems.”
— An earlier version of this story was published with an error. This version reflects the correction. Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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