A grieving family has revealed that their beloved pet dog was shot and killed by a deer hunter after being mistaken for a coyote.
As reported by TMZ, the Pennsylvania family has revealed that family member Chris Heller was walking their eight-year-old malamute-mix, named Hunter, when the tragic incident occurred.
In a Facebook post, Heller's wife, Jennifer, said that Hunter had been wearing reflective collars and harnesses, as they walked down a "very commonly used walking path" by their home in Berks County.
Also on the walk was the family's other dog, a German Shepherd named Freya.
While on the walk, Chris un-leashed Hunter, but the family pup stayed close by.
When Chris came across a group of deer hunters, he was informed that there had been an extension on the hunting season, per Jennifer's Facebook post. After informing the hunters which walking path he and the two dogs would be taking, one of the hunters "communicated to their group that a man and 2 large dogs were in the area".
Sadly, before Chris could once again leash his dogs, Hunter was "shot in the gut by a hunter with a scope on his rifle".
According to his wife, Chris yelled out "Who shot my dog?" - while carrying the fallen Hunter 100 yards.
Despite two of the hunters driving Chris and the wounded Hunter to a local vet, the family's beloved dog passed away.
"He suffered in pain for around 20 minutes," Jennifer wrote. "The hunter who shot him didn’t apologize, hasn’t reached out to us to ask if there is anything we need. Other members of his party called to check on us."
Jennifer then revealed that the hunter than had shot the family's dog "thought it was a coyote".
Now, the family says it wants the hunter to lose his "hunting privileges for a few years and have to take a hunter safety course before he can hunt again".
"I want to help educate hunters with actual color photos of the difference between a pet dog and a coyote," Jennifer writes.
Additionally, the family has launched a GoFundMe in an effort to raise $10,000 for legal fees in relation to their dog's death.
"Coyote hunting is legal in Pennsylvania, but even large Eastern coyotes are about 1.5ft tall and 40lbs whereas Hunter was almost 90lbs and 3ft tall," the family writes in the fundraiser's description.
They add that local police and representatives of the Pennsylvania Game Commission have determined the incident to be a "tragic mistake" and that "no game law violations were detected".
TMZ confirms that no arrests were made in relation to the incident, with Northern Berks Regional Police Chief James Keiser telling TMZ that Hunter wasn't under the control of the owner - adding that the dog should have been on a leash.
"Despite multiple offers and opportunities, the deer hunter does not want to meet to apologize and refuses to come forward to them out of fear of the social media backlash," the description continues.
The family says it has met with an attorney who believes "they have a strong foundation for a civil case and can hold accountable the parties".
"Hunter was so loved by so many people and shouldn’t have had his life ended," Jennifer writes.
