HANSEN, Idaho (KMVT/Gray News) – A bird hunter in Idaho wants answers after he says his dog was shot and killed while they were on a recent hunting trip.
According to Trevor Henderson, he was out hunting with his dog Ellie, when she was shot by two other hunters who said they thought she was a coyote.
“We heard three gunshots just one after the other,” he said.
Henderson described it as a typical day before the shooting happened on Sunday morning.
He said the two were bird hunting in the South Hills area when the unthinkable happened.
“She was lying in a puddle of blood,” Henderson said.
The bird hunter says he owns three other German shorthaired pointers, all the same breed as Ellie.
He said Ellie was wearing a tracking collar Sunday morning which should have made it obvious she wasn’t a coyote.
“Our officers are still gathering information on what happened,” Terry Thompson, with Idaho Fish and Game, said.
Thompson says that the hunters accused of killing Ellie violated the department’s code of ethics because they did not fully identify their target before shooting.
“We teach this all the time in our hunter education classes; you need to know the species that you’re hunting and be able to absolutely identify that species before you ever pull the trigger,” Thompson said.
Quinn Inwards, the president of the High Desert Pointing Dog Club, says he is looking to raise awareness and increase safety for hunters and their companions.
“Instances like this are just negligent, you know something like that can’t happen,” Inwards said. “We just want people to be aware there are hunting dogs out here running around on public lands.”
Meanwhile, Henderson is mourning the loss of Ellie and says he wants more answers as she wasn’t just a hunting dog, but also a member of his family.
“My dog’s life is not any less than a moose or any wildlife where you can have repercussions for that and I think it’s wrong,” Henderson said.
Officials with the Idaho Fish and Game said they have already contacted the hunters in question over the shooting, but it’s up to the discretion of the county prosecutor to determine if any charges are going to be filed.
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