February 14, 2012
From WisconsinRapidsTribune.com
A 27-year-old Wisconsin Rapids man faces a felony charge after authorities say he intentionally shot a dog during deer hunting season.
According to the criminal complaint, at about 10 a.m. Nov. 25, a Seneca man left his two dogs outside, but only one returned. The man searched his property and found the missing dog, Gunner, at the end of his driveway. The dog’s left front leg was dangling, and his right back leg was injured.
Wood County Humane Officer Nanci Kinney spoke with Kyle C. Swanson two days after the shooting. Swanson said he had been hunting on his father-in-law’s Seneca property when two dogs arrived. Swanson got out of his stand and “shooed” the dogs away, but when they came back, he shot one of them, according to the criminal complaint.
Gunner’s front leg was amputated, and he needed surgery to repair a severed tendon in his rear leg, according to the complaint.
Swanson is charged with one count of felony mistreatment of a dog, which carries a maximum penalty of 31/2 years in prison. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance March 12 in front of Wood County Circuit Judge Greg Potter.