By: Letters to the ...
Yes, it is I, the so-called irresponsible, trigger-happy hunter that shot Fender [the pet dog]. I have kept out of this emotionally charged discussion since the incident. I have been attacked repeatedly by members of the community that have been driven by emotion and a one-sided story. Here is my side.
On that day, I was hunting with my fiance on her family’s property. The property is approximately 100 acres. Also hunting that day was my future brother-in-law.
We had been in a stand that was facing away from any populated areas. Our hunting lanes were to the back of the property onto an additional 400 unoccupied acres. We went to the stand on a bright and sunny day.
We had been in the stand a short time when I had the opportunity to harvest a deer. I took the shot and unfortunately missed the animal when it ducked. I then had a second opportunity to harvest another deer. I carefully placed the shot and waited for the animal to go down. After waiting for about 20 minutes, my fiance and I began gathering our gear to go find the animal.
As I stood up, I placed my rifle down and put my gear bag on. We heard a loud noise coming at us from our left. A deer came out of the wood line at a full run for its life.
I was unable to gather my rifle to place a responsible shot on the animal.
Quickly behind the deer, two dogs were running after it. The animals were snarling and growling.
I told my fiance, who is a certified conservation ranger and current sheriff’s deputy, that I was going to shoot one of the animals. I did not see or hear a collar on either animal.
My fiance agreed with my decision and I shot the dog that was in the rear, a brown boxer that was viciously attacking (pursuing) the deer. Once shot, the dog immediately went down and did not move.
We left the stand and hurried to the dog. As we arrived at the animal, roughly 86 yards away, we found it was wearing a collar. We checked the tag, and saw the owner’s name. We called my fiancee’s grandfather. He told us that he knew the owner and where he lived.
As we were getting ready to visit the owner, my future brother-in-law came to us. He told us that he recognized the dog as the same one that had attacked several other deer during his hunt also. My brother-in-law went to find the deer that I shot while we felt obligated to return the dog to its owner.
Mr. Edwards lives three properties over, approximately one-third of a mile away. Not quite the backyard distance as described before.
As we pulled into his driveway, Mr. Edwards met us. I told Mr. Edwards that I had shot his dog because it was chasing deer. I offered my sincere apology and then offered to bury the animal if he wished. He became quiet for a moment before he began yelling, cursing and verbally assaulting my fiance. I again apologized. We placed the animal where he instructed us to and we left. At no time did I try to hide the fact I shot his dog.
The comment was made that I was trying to hide behind the law. I wasn’t trying to hide. I did what I thought was right and lawful.
As I said before, my fiance is a certified conservation ranger and a current sheriff’s deputy. As a conservation ranger, she was obligated to shoot ALL dogs chasing deer.
We honestly thought that the dog was not collared and was likely a dangerous stray. There had been problems recently with wild dogs in that area of Fayette County. This information was obtained from the Department of Natural Resources.
Also, there have been specific problems on this particular property in the past. Family pets and other animals have been slaughtered. With several children in the family, would you risk a vicious animal roaming your property?
Comments were also made about the poor defenseless family pet. What about the poor deer? The dog was chasing the deer to kill it for fun. Stray dogs that run deer rarely eat them, if ever. Why is the dog considered more important than the deer? Someone please inform me as to how animal’s lives rank and why.
The dog was going home eventually to have a nice bowl of human-issued dog food. The deer was going to die for no good purpose.
For those of you that say I was killing the deer for sport, no such thing. Every year I harvest deer for food. I eat venison (deer) year round. Also, my fiance and I hunt deer for her mother. Her mother is severely allergic to beef. One beef taco sent her to the hospital. Her red meat intake is supplied by harvesting deer.
As for the criminal offense, I did not know anything about it until I was notified by mail. I went to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and got a copy of the report. The report stated that no criminal offense was committed and that the case was closed.
A comment was made implying that the case was closed to protect another cop. The Sheriff’s Office never knew that I was in law enforcement. No one was aware of my employment until the day I went to court for the warrant Mr. Edwards was attempting to obtain.
As for the warrant, Judge Tinsley did not make a decision that day, nor has he since. An agreement was reached between myself and Mr. Edwards. I agreed, voluntarily, to donate the money. Also, I did not lose my license for a year, just the license I had at the time of the incident.
Another comment really hit me. An individual on this newspaper’s website stated, “For all of you manly hunters out there who like to kill deer and support shooting dogs, try hunting something that can shoot back like a terrorist in Afghanistan or Iraq. It’s more exciting, more competitive, and actually takes some guts to hunt down a guy that can shoot back and actually knows you are trying to kill him.”
My fiance and I serve our country/community everyday. We put on a uniform and head off to work where every day we hunt bad guys that shoot back, not knowing if we will come back. And yes, I have been shot at by one of those bad guys and I made it home. I do know what it is like.
As you have also probably noticed, I have referred to both the deer and the dog as animals through most of this writing. That is because they are. Neither is more important than the other and they certainly are not more important than human beings, or even equally so.
I know most of you will still think of me as the irresponsible hunter; oh, well. This all stems from an irresponsible dog owner that chose not to keep his animal under control. He is bitter and continues to attack me through this newspaper and any way he can. He cannot accept his own personal responsibility for this incident.
I took my responsibility from the beginning by taking the animal back to him and agreeing to donate the money. I could have left the dead dog on my fiancee’s property and the buzzards and coyotes would have devoured him in no time. No one would have ever known what had happened to Fender.
However, as a responsible, kind and compassionate person who believes in doing what is right, I returned the dog to his home with heartfelt apologies. As thanks for my honesty and good intentions I have paid both emotionally and financially and am still being maligned, not just by Fender’s owner, but by people who don’t even know me.
I am comfortable with my actions of that day. I stand by what I did. I do regret that Mr. Edward’s family lost their pet due in part to my actions but also due in part to his own actions.
I have taken responsibility for my actions. When will Mr. Edwards take responsibility for his? And when will Mr. Edwards become mature enough to lay this matter to rest?
Tommy Grier
tdgrier (at) mindspring.com
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