Dog shot with rifle Grass Valley, CA (US) Incident Date: Monday, Aug 5, 2002 County: Nevada Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Case Images: 1 files available Alleged: Michael D. Voight

Case ID: 2251 Classification: Shooting Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in CA (US) Animal was offleash or loose Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior Login to Watch this Case

On Aug 5, 2002, 5-year-old Donner, a Burmese/Rottweiler mix, was recovering from at least one gunshot wound while his Peardale Road neighbor faced possible felony charges for allegedly shooting the 140-pound dog with a rifle.

It all started on the night of Monday, Aug 5 over spilled garbage, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

Michael D. Voight, 36, was arrested on suspicion of cruelty to another's animal. He was booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional facility, where he posted $10,000 bail.

Voight suspected the dog had gotten into his garbage and left trash strewn, Sheriff Keith Royal said. At about 7 p.m., two shots sounded and Donner, while in his owner's driveway, crumpled to the ground in view of the owner's teenage daughter.

"Yeah, I capped the dog," Voight allegedly told an officer, according to Royal.

Voight also apologized and offered to pay for the veterinarian's bill, the sheriff added.

Donner's owner, Teri Burke, said her 15-year-old daughter, Alyssa Burke, witnessed the shooting while on the house deck with her boyfriend.

Donner turned toward the girl after the first shot and fell on his left side after the second shot, a Sheriff's Office report says. Then the dog rose to its feet, ran to a wooded area and stayed gone for a few hours, leaving a trail of blood.

"She's pretty sad and upset, and she's very angry," Teri Burke said of her daughter before retrieving Donner from the veterinarian Tuesday night.

The dog had wounds to his chest and rear, and a bullet remains lodged in the animal, Burke said.

Burke said she and Voight live in separate houses on the same property, and relations had been friendly. She also said Donner didn't have a history of going into garbage; she suspects raccoons are responsible.

"I like my neighbor," Burke said. "He's been a great neighbor. We're amiable, but I'm angry at the situation."

And she's frightened by worse scenarios.

"You don't just fire a gun. It could have ricocheted. It could have hit someone in my driveway," she said.

The Burkes adopted Donner from an animal shelter last spring after the death of their previous dog, a female yellow lab.

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References

The Union - Aug 7, 2002

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