“Dear Mom, Dad and Fender: If Fender drives y’all too nuts, tell him his best friend will be home soon ... Can y’all bring Fender when you visit for family day next weekend? ... Give Fender my love. Love, Justin”

That was an excerpt from a post card written on Nov. 4 by our son, Justin, who is attending basic training with the U.S. Army at Fort Benning. This is the story of Fender, his dog, left in our care over eight weeks ago.

Little did he know when he wrote those words that we would bury Fender that evening. If that wasn’t difficult enough, the worst was yet to come. How would we inform Justin in order to minimize the impact on the crucial life and death training he was undergoing at Fort Benning.

Fender didn’t have to die. He didn’t die of old age, disease or accident. He was intentionally killed by a bullet fired from the gun of an irresponsible and callous hunter. The incident occurred on property behind our house and within 200 yards from where we were calling for Fender that evening. As darkness fell, at least five shots were fired in our direction; “trigger happy” comes to mind. No menacing deer were bagged that day, only a small dog.

Justin had rescued Fender as he strayed along Ga. Highway 85 last spring and an instant bond was established. He nursed him back to health and Fender instantly became everyone’s friend and one of the most active pets we’ve ever been around. His favorite pastime was to chase and retrieve tennis balls. Fender didn’t have a vicious bone in his body and was so grateful for his second chance at life. When the day was done, and the balls and toys put away, he would find a lap to snuggle on, lay his head against your shoulder and fall asleep.

Despite our best efforts to restrain him this day, he managed to escape. We started our search at 4:30 p.m.; it ended at 6:15 when [a man] came to our house with the unbelievable news. His exact words were disturbing: “Your dog was running deer; therefore, I had no choice but to shoot him.” He was quick to hide behind Georgia statute 27-3-49(c) which reads: “It shall not be unlawful for any person to kill a dog which does not have a collar and which is pursuing or killing deer in any locality ...”

According to the statute, in all other instances where dogs may be “pursuing or killing” deer, only a conservation ranger, sheriff, or deputy sheriff can engage that dog with the intent to kill it.

Fender was wearing a bright blue collar with an identification tag attached. Ample contrast was provided against his beautiful light brown coat; there was no mistaking the presence of a collar unless you were seeing what you wanted to see. At 40 pounds and 20 inches high, he was not that day, nor had he ever exhibited a threatening appearance.

Additionally, he appears extremely healthy and domesticated from any distance, not to be confused with a wild, scavenging animal you would envision pursuing and killing deer for food.

That is what makes this situation so hard for us to accept. We hardly think the framers of this statute intended for hunters to have complete discretion to indiscriminately kill any dog wandering into their killing field. [The shooter] will tell you he didn’t see Fender’s collar and he was running his deer off – no excuse. When in doubt of your target, we assume the responsible hunter would confirm its legitimacy before pulling the trigger, particularly in this situation.

We contend that our hero [hunter] was at the end of an unproductive hunting day, and took his frustration out on helpless Fender. There is no other logical explanation for this senseless act. The area he was hunting in has several homes in and around it; therefore, the prudent person would safely assume that any dog that wanders in the area is probably someone’s pet. Think about it, [hunter]. And you’re trusted with a deadly weapon near my house? Shame on you and your inability to make rational decisions before pulling the trigger.

This past week, we were able to inform Justin about Fender’s death. As we were, he was shocked and saddened beyond words. He’ll take it like a man, however, because that’s what he is.

What irony: Our son is serving his country to ensure people like [the hunter] can benefit from his sacrifices and have the freedom to enjoy weekends hunting deer. Unfortunately, it appears [the hunter] fails to appreciate his fortunes and enjoys taking advantage of his freedoms. We feel sorry for him and anyone condoning his malicious actions that day.

We are deeply saddened and miss our beloved pet deeply. There is an enormous emptiness in our home without our spirited little friend who truly defined unconditional love. Do we sound upset? We are. The inexcusable senselessness of this act will take us a long time to get over.

Finally, to the pet owners residing in Fayette County: Be aware, if you violate the county leash law, your pet is subject to be killed, and the killer is able to return and hunt another day.

Robin and Fred Edwards
Fayette County, Ga.