Dog killed, owner charged with shooting hunter

A Fayette County man allegedly shot a coyote hunter in the leg Sunday in Georges after the hunter shot and killed his dog, state police said.

George Bodnovich, 42, of Brownsville was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Police said Bodnovich allegedly shot Jonathan Harmon, 26, of Clarksville, Washington County, in the right leg after an argument over the death of one of Bodnovich's dogs, Seneca, Sunday afternoon.

Harmon, who was coyote hunting on an all-terrain vehicle, shot and killed Seneca around 4 p.m. because he mistook the dog for a coyote, police said. The dog was wearing an orange neoprene-type vest so that hunters did not mistake him for a wild animal.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribunereview/news/fayette/s_598000.html

I'd be tempted to shoot the fool myself if he killed my dog. No sympathy here for the hunter. It's not even like coyotes are a huge problem here. Yeah, coyotes go around wearing orange vests!

vest for a coyote?

If it was my dog, my emotions would probably get the best of me.

right on my own property by a hunter who was trespassing. This happened a long time ago but still makes me upset.

She was on her property. She saw some hunters off in the distance and wanted to wave them off since her kids were playing outside. All the hunters saw was motion and started firing. Killed her dead on her own property.


Some hunters are just dumber than a box of sticks.

during deer season. And I had to chase hunters out of the (posted) cemetery next to my house. Assholes.

Hunting "accidents" happen all the time.

This hunter is an asshole, and that would have been the appropriate place to shoot hom, in the ass. I suggest 20 gauge birdshot.

and I have trouble with poachers in the summer and buffoons who don't respect property lines or Posted signs. I have one neighbor whose kids might be out playing, his dogs might be out in their 1-acre dog run, or my dogs might be out for a peaceable pee. More than once I've had to bury 20ga target-load in the ground in my back yard when repeated shouts of "You're on private property, please leave!" didn't do the trick. I've had to bury 12ga in the ground when that didn't get the point across. That always does it. There are two things I don't tolerate well: poaching and trespassing. When they shoot toward the house, I get right upsot. My neighbor agrees and we back each other up.

We've only got one wildlife enforcement officer for the whole county and a popular hunting reserve with a huge deer population. The deer do get out of hand through the year and a lot of folks out here do depend on them for food. But there is the occasional fool from out of state you have to contend with. The sheriff's department is severely understaffed (any trained LEO's out there want to move to a nice, rural county?) and so is Wildlife. We're kinda left on our own most of the time.

I wouldn't shoot anyone, but I well understood one of the sheriff's officer's offhand remarks: "in the ground, you can account for; in the air, you can't..."

Hunting isn't a "sport." The definion of "sport" is that there are players who are at least theoretically equally aware of the rules of the game, and each has theoretically an equal fair chance of winning.


If your idea of a "sport" is to go shooting unarmed animals--and being careless about even that short-bus definition of "sport"--then I'm not gonna cry when bad things happen to you.

I do cry for the poor dog and his person, though - that's just fucked. And no, I don't think this guy should be penalized for avenging a family member.

So, do you intend of feeding the overpopulation of deer living in my area, or should they just get hit by cars?

While I can understand your frustration due to lack of understanding the need to control animal numbers, we all have to understand that there is a need to keep many animal populations in check, or they will starve to death during hard winters, be struck and killed by automobiles in great numbers, or wind up with rampant disease thinning out the numbers, possibly transmitting those diseases to domestic animals and possibly humans.

Myself, I'm not a sport hunter, I hunt to feed my family, and only take shots that I know 100% I can kill the animal as humanely as possible in such a manner as to minimize any pain and suffering. I cannot see the point in hunting for a trophy, because I've looked high and low, and have yet to find any recipe's for antler.

I'm not a vegetarian either. I do understand the necessary evil of killing animals humanely for food (though, really, the population control issue is because we've killed off all the natural predators, so let's not pat ourselves on the back too much about that).

What I object to is calling it a "sport" and yukking it up in the woods with buddies drinking beer, and posing with "trophies" and all that macho crap.

Our dogs are part of our family.

I have no sympathy for asshole hunters, and coyote hunters rank right up there in that regard. They aren't hunting for meat, they're hunting for the hide. And apparently this idiot is one of those hunters that I've ran into all too many times who think that if it moves, he shoots.
People like this should have to options, either give up all their guns permanently, or get shot themselves. I've had too many friends out in the country lose their pets and livestock to idiots like this one.

You say that coyote hunters are the bane of existence, but have you seen what a pack of coyotes can do to a household pet, or a farmers livestock?

It's not pretty.

Coyote's have their function in the food chain, but in my area, they are getting to be WAY too many of them, and they have lost their fear of man, buildings, and town even. They're getting so bold as to come within YARDS of my lawn in broad daylight while my children are playing outdoors.

Were I to let our current coyote population go on unchecked, they would eventually wipe my farm out-I can yell, scream and shout all I want, they fear man not at all. I used to be able to rely upon my farm dog to keep them at bay until the coyote's ganged up and almost killed him one night as he was trying to guard newborn calves. Luckily, I heard the commotion in time and was able to come to his rescue with a GUN. He's back to good health, but he's very wary of them now, and instead of standing his ground, he'll bark like hell and retreat. Very sad to see a 125 lb shephard do this.

Before you lump all coyote hunters into the "asshole" category, take the time to step back and realize that in some areas, they are a godsend to the ag industry and those with pets and children.


I do, however, think the shooters in this case were both in the wrong-shooting a dog wearing an orange vest isn't a mistake, it's stupidity, and a retaliation shooting like this one is just the errand of a fool. He should have let the law take care of the situation, instead, the law will be taking care of him for a few years.

And frankly, if you live out in the country with pets or livestock, then coyotes are one of the risks you take for your lifestyle. If you lived in a city, the risk to your pets would be just as great or great, except the perpetrator would be cars, not coyotes.

Second of all, with the shortage of wolves and mountain lions, we've got have an apex level predator to give some sort of semblance of control to the deer population. In most areas, coyotes are trying to fulfill this role, at least as best they can. Frankly, I would like to see broader re-introduction of wolves and mountain lions throughout their old ranges just to keep the deer population under control. The amount of money and lives lost due to deer collisions is quite high and climbing higher.

I'm fully aware of the issues that farmer have with coyotes, but the trouble is that much like wolves and mountain lions, farmers tend to over react and wipe out all of these predators in the surrounding area, and in time, hunt them to the point of extinction. Sorry, but we need apex predators for a healthy environment, and if you're going to raise cattle or other livestock, that's the risk that you run:shrug:

They are fascinating. However, I still agree with the points that you raise.

I live in rural, upstate NY. I've lived on farms, worked on farms, and -- before an auto accident made it impossible -- had raised chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese as a hobby.

When the coyote population was limited, the loss of livestock and birds was minimal. It was ugly to see the results of a calf, for example, that had been attacked. But nature is often brutal.

In the past decade, the coyote population has exploded. As a result, there is a significant decrease in things such as the wild rabbit population. Coyotes are not apt to fast voluntarily, and so they go to where the food supplies are. In the fall, after the corn is cut, wild turkeys gather twice a day in large flocks. Thus, at dawn and especially dusk, coyotes come to those same fields, to feast on turkey. And being coyotes, they take note of the next course, which tends to be whatever the farmer keeps between the corn and their house and barns.

Seeing a couple coyotes running through a field in the day can be a pleasurable site. Hearing dozens of coyotes coming closer to your lifestock, poultry, and pets in the darkness of the night isn't quite as fun.

My family likes to spend time out at my pond. My young daughters and their friends like to hang out there, often camping out in the summer months. Of course, wild animals visit ponds, both during the day and night. This includes coyotes. I do not shoot anything -- a good fire keeps most animals at a safe distance at night, and the kids sleep inside our cabin. But I understand why some of the farmers in my rural "neighborhood" do shoot them.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?id=6350561§ion=news/local

ELGIN (WLS) -- Some pet owners are worried and on alert in suburban Elgin.

Coyotes are on the prowl. At least two dogs have been attacked recently. And one of them was killed.

Maryanne Leone showed the spot on her driveway where recently a coyote snatched her beloved 4-year-old Yorkshire terrier, Bella.

"I heard her make a very small noise and she was gone," said Leone. Ironically, Leone took Bella to the front of the house because she had been warned about coyotes in other neighbors' back yards. The Elgin subdivision has seen an increase in coyote activity. Just two weeks ago, the Pylypiws' dog Beenie was also attacked.

"There was a group of coyotes. At first, we didn't see anything. We heard a yelp and saw her hightailing towards the house," said Billy Pylypiw.

Coyotes are a natural part of the habitat in areas like Kane County. Most of the time, they stay away from humans. But as more people encroach onto what used to be their territory, the number of interactions increase...

we're just a little further into the 'country', and at night the howling/yipping coyotes sound like they're everywhere. i take my lab out at night without a leash- but i always stay very close.

You seriously think the law would do anything to the guy who shot a dog?

Welcome to DU! :hi:

You're going to find that hunting and shooting threads get a little contentious around here, but well-reasoned posts are always welcome...

I guess he did not have a helicopter.

into your own hands, with a gun.

Makes me wonder who he will shoot next:shrug:

him off?

and find out?

give me a break...I'm sorry but deserved it.

he shouldn't go around shooting things he shouldn't.

What if he shoot the dog's owner before the owner had the chance to stop him? Would that also be Ok with you?

accidently, of course

identify as animals not to be shot. The hunter was a first rate asshole, and easily could have killed another person.
AND, if he had shot my dog, I would have buried him in the woods. Not the dog.


mark

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I pity the fool who would dare to kill one of my dogs, too. I don't condone violence, but I certainly DO understand the sentiments and can't say I wouldn't at the very least be tempted to behave in a similar way as did Bodnovich. I have NO sympathy for the cretin who killed that dog. He's actually lucky, AFAIC.

I know people who would not think for a second about putting a rifle round through someones chest for that act. That generally leads to death. Then they would claim they were shooting at a deer and had an accident. Accident.

What a dumbshit, bet he doesn't make that mistake again.

Seems like good olde-fashioned Old-Testament values to me.

The fundies should be coming out of the woodwork to support the dog's owner!

....and you'll wish I only shot you in the leg.