Pet Dog Shooting Investigation Reopened
POSTED: Sunday, June 1, 2008
UPDATED: 7:19 am EDT June 2,
2008
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- The Orange County Sheriff's Office has reopened an investigation into the videotaped shooting of a man's pet dogs after clips were posted on Local6.com and YouTube.
Chris Butler said his pet Siberian Huskies wandered into a nearby pasture located off Narcossee Road and were shot for no reason.
Video showed one of Butler's dogs being gunned down as it ran away from the shooter and another dog being shot while standing still in the field, Local 6's Jessica D'Onofrio reported.
Butler said the neighbor continued to shoot while the dogs were on the ground.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office did not press charges against the shooter, who has been identified as Christopher Comins.
Comins does not own the land where the dogs were shot but claims he had permission from the owner to shoot the dogs.
According to state law, Florida property owners have the right to protect livestock from wild dogs and unleashed pets.
Butler's collared dogs got away while they were being walked before the shooting.
"He just wanted to kill them," Butler said. "That is what it boils down to. He just wanted to shoot them."
Butler said the dogs were harmless and would not have hurt anyone.
Butler has hired an attorney and is fighting to get Comins prosecuted.
Repeated attempts to contact Comins were unsuccessful, Local 6 reported.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
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