I am so sorry about your dog Beanie!!! it sucks to lose a dog! Don't focus on how you lost her but focus on her full life with you.

A 40lb dog is NO deer. THEN give that bowhunter a pair of glasses and he needs to make certain what he's shooting before he makes his final decision or just take his bow and s-l-a-p him with it. or he should not be in the woods!!! Oh yeah and get that deputy barney fife and do her job!!! You can't fix stupid, twice!!!

So Sorry!!!

I tried to get the police and animal control to deal with neighbors who tried to kill my cats. Poison, arrows, you name it.

The only way I got the neighbors to stop what to fight fire with fire. Chaining up their automatic gate so it wouldn't open early in the morning so the family couldn't get their car out to take the kids to school and go to work. They thought that was way more important than dealing with their kids trying to kill my cats.

I’m pretty sure he knew what he was shooting at. If he didn’t then he shouldn’t be hunting in the first place. I really doubt it was an accident. I would pursue charges and it would take all I had to keep from whooping his butt.

Sad to hear this. Lots of people just want to kill. I doubt it was an accident.

One thing I keep hearing from these types is "I hunt for the meat". B.S. If you hunt for meat, why not hunt cows. It's a total bs response. They just have this desire to kill and they rationalize it with such language to try and convince others it is ok.

Why wasn't it on a leash?

Just because I don't see any cars I don't let the kids walk in the road.

I've been a hunter my whole life. I can tell you right now, this was not an accident. The only possible way (slim chance) it was, is if it was very low light in morning or evening and you have a tall brown greyhound or something like that. That would resemble a small doe. However, with a bow that animal needed to be close enough to identify with the naked eye before shooting.

This hunter is in the wrong and gives a bad name to is all. Call the state game commission, they will pick this up faster than the sheriff.

I am sorry that you lost your dog. Was the dog on your land or the neighbors? That would be the determining factor in my state. I have my land posted with No Hunting and No Trespassing signs for the purpose of protecting my livestock.

bud, so sorry about your dog. Not to berate at you when you just lost your dog but having 150 acres in the woods means you also need to use some caution. I was in my woods early this morning and I had on bright orange (it's actually archery season here but I often wear it even when it's not hunting season). This morning, I did what I needed to do and I got out even though I had no hunters on my property at that time. I'll be out there tomorrow when there are no hunters anywhere to do what I need to do. I don't have a dog but all my kids do and they all have bright orange vests that they wear during hunting season. An inconvenience but I insist. I know where the tree stands are on adjoining properties and the neighbors know where our permanent ones are.

check to see if he has hunting insurance. I've never read the policy to see what it actually covers.

That is one careless and scary hunter if he was in a tree stand and shot at ANYTHING without verifying what it was. That person is NOT a hunter in my opinion.

He may have the right to "hunt" on his own land but was the dog on yours or his? If it was on YOUR land then he had no right to shoot it (accident or not).

I also hunt and you need to be AWARE of your surroundings. There are certain people that I will NOT hunt with because I don't trust them. Last thing I need is to get shot because someone thinks that a guy walking in the woods is a deer (or any other animal they are seeking).

The hunters made a bad shot and lost their deer. If the hunter was of any quality, they spent a day or 2 tracking that animal.

I lost one this year due to a bad shot. It's sucks and I felt bad. It's a bad feeling.

Anyone against the idea of hunters or hunting should really check out the YouTube video "Vegan Vs Meat Eater - Steve Rinella. It's a good 3 minute perspective.

If you think the odds are against you as a landlord, try being a hunter.

Larry, its illegal to bait deer in Pa as you describe, so that theory doesn't work here. Hunting is SO MUCH MORE than when that trigger is pulled.

For me it's in my blood. For me, it's about tradition, it's about family, it's about nature. It's about seeing all the other animals than just the one that you're after. It's about being out there and being part of the wind and part of the rain and part of the snow and part of the trees.

If I could get all my meat from the woods, the sky, and the water, I would. What I can't get from the woods, I buy from the local farmers. I don't buy it the grocery store. Except for the occasional hotdogs and chicken patties for my kids.

N E I am an outdoor person I was a land surveyor most my life and a lot of it was working in the woods. Most my friends hunt and I tell them the same thing. A few of them have stopped hunting because they realize the way they did it was not fair to the animals and there was really no reason to do it. ... others still hunt.

I understand where your coming from and if you don’t bait the deer and actually hunt then I apologize to you . But these ones that bait the deer all year long then kill them when they feel comfortable standing there eating are the ones I think are wrong.

I HATE the idea of hunting and yet growing up in the country I understand and accept it.

Bud,

I’m so very sorry about your furry friend.

Was the sheriff called or the local conservation agent? That hunter needs to have their eyesight checked and then be required to take additional hunters safety classes for shooting something he could not see clearly.

Was your dog on your land or the neighbors? Do you know this neighbor?

That just doesn’t seem like an accident to me. I’m from a long line of deer hunters. Everyone in the family, most of the people I know here in rural MO, hunts for the table. That hunter was either very careless or it was done on purpose. I hope you receive some financial satisfaction but we all know that the money won’t bring back your dog.

I am so incredibly sorry for Beanie, you, your poor grandson, and to all those who loved Beanie. I cannot imagine the pain that the hunter intentionally did. Who does that? That hunter should be on some agency’s record for sure just in case you wanted to make at least a civic gesture to protect others from the his own hunting faults in the future.

Nicole, I have lived in the country all my life and we have herds upon herds of deer on our property and have never seen any of this destruction your talking about other than the deer eating .flowers. Which I don’t call destruction.

Larry of TX, If you hunt then you enjoy the thrill of killing. There is no other excuse unless your dead broke and have no where to get food. Besides that the way people “hunt” in today’s world is nothing more than disgusting. You might as well trap the poor deer in a cage then put your clown outfit on, hide in your tree drink a beer then murder the deer

WOW Larry of TX are you serious and I quote you, "If you hunt then you enjoy the thrill of killing". it's not about being broke its about another method of putting food on the table.

Paulio of PA, How dare you kill a defenseless animal! You should be getting your meat from a slaughterhouse like the rest of us!

How does Larry and Paulio think that animals are processed at the slaughterhouse. I challenge both of you to go to the slaughterhouse in your area and observe the process that is used to process YOUR steak that is setting on your table. OR your turkey that was on your Christmas dinner table. OR the pig that is now a pork roast on your table? Or your chicken that is a drum stick. Watch the process and learn how its done or learn the process of processing and cleaning a turkey or a chicken.

I guarantee that neither of you have the stomach nor a minute to spend in the back room of a slaughterhouse. AND both of you would become vegetarians in a heart beat. Living off the land is a way of life for many people including NE of PA. and your vision and mindset is " If you hunt then you enjoy the thrill of killing". Wow what a warped sense of why many people hunt.

Talk to a cotton farmer in northern Florida or southern Alabama and the damage that a herd of deer can do to their crops and their way of life. Or a corn farmer that has their crops destroyed by a herd of deer. Hunting not with a bow but with a gun in both farmers situations its a way of life.

When anyone takes a bow or a gun into their hands there is a major amount of responsibility to know how to us both a gun and/or a bow.

In the case of Bud of MO it's EXTREMELY lucky that the grandson was not shot by this bow hunter. I heard something or I saw movement, in both those cases you as a hunter better know exactly your target and be clear of what your are shooting at before taking that shot. NO EXCUSE and NO MARGIN for error.

Bud of MO has 150 acres that's his domain his castle and his dog does not need a leash.

Hunting is an excellent sport or a method to gather food for the table. Yep the hunter that shot the dog was not showing the highest regard for the hunting industry. Bud should call the game commission and let them run with the investigation because the Sheriffs Dept failed the process.

I only hunt people...

But still, "know your target and what is beyond." Anybody who thinks a dog is a deer is either an idiot or a moron.

Of course some fool shot the only Mexican wolf in northern AZ a couple years ago. He said he thought it was the biggest coyote he ever saw.

Paulio of PA ok I understand your pointed; YOUR point is well taken but also my point about people taking time to see the slaughterhouse from start to finish, most would become vegetarians. AND I totally agree with you about Larry.

NE, I get it. Grew up hunting with my family, back when there were no women's hunting gear and few women out. I remember having stopping to talk with other hunters when I was young with my father. There surprise when I said something with a woman's voice was so funny.. "That's a girl".

Own my own land to hunt on now and would take the first 2 weeks of the season off, just to be out there. Larry, get off your high horse. Plenty of studies of how the deer who browse young trees have kept the forests from renewing. No you don't really see that destruction, but it does exist. We hunters are not out to just kill. There is so much more to it, but you will never understand.

We butcher our own deer, getting every scrap of meat that a professional butcher would let go. Before all the ticks and their diseases, we would donate the hides so they were not wasted. But go to a slaughter house and see where your beef, pork and chicken come from. It ain't pretty. And aren't you a nice person wishing evil on people who are different from you.

bud, sorry that you lost your dog. That's hard. I am a non-hunting woman in a hunting family - they were all careful, responsible hunters. Not one of them ever even had a close call with a person or the wrong animal. If they weren't sure, they didn't shoot.

My adult daughter was out kayaking a couple of days ago on a lake in a local state park. She is well aware of hunting seasons, and even on the lake was wearing a hot pink life vest. She heard some young men whooping it up in the woods on the opposite shoreline, where an extended antlerless deer season was allowed after Christmas. Suddenly someone shot into the lake. While it wasn't closer than 50 yards from her kayak, it scared and angered her and she yelled that there were people in boats on the lake (you idiot). True, there were also people out fishing, just not right there.

First of all, no sane hunter would be whooping it up in the woods, scaring away the wildlife. Second of all, no responsible hunter would shoot into the water, which is not part of the hunting area boundaries.

Since this off topic discussion became such a it topic, I figured I would share my afternoon.

I just spent the afternoon squirrel hunting with my 6 year old son.

We plotted our murderous rampage at the house by him being super excited to carry the very first pocket knife he ever had that Santa brought him for Christmas.

We loaded our gear into the truck, some orange clothes and a very old .410 Sears & Roebuck shotgun that was his great grandfathers and will someday be his. It was purchased for $12 many many years ago.

We didn't get our ceremonial hunting Dunkin Donuts hot chocolate today as we always do when he's in the truck with Dad. I forgot cash...

When we got to the woods, Dad had to kick it in 4wd to make it through a mud hole.

My son thought that was the coolest with the mud all over the truck.

Before we get out of the truck, we discuss the 4 rules he has memorized and we repeat before each hunt.

#1. You don't touch anyone's gun.

#2. Be quiet and be still.

#3 when Dad says cover your ears, do it quickly and quietly. (To protect from sound of gunshot)

#4 If anything happens to daddy where he can't walk or talk (I die in the middle of nowhere), you sit with him and someone will find you, don't walk off.

Then we got out and started walking up the mountain. Soon he spotted a really cool mushroom growing on a tree. I took a picture of it and can share it with anyone here who cares to see it. :)

As we walked across the side hill, he spotted deer droppings and a few buck rubs. He's getting good at that and likes telling dad about it.

When we got to the open field, he found some hickory nuts and was super excited to be able to take some home to try in the nutcracker Santa also brought him for Christmas.

The field we were in was pretty high up on the mountain and it looks down on the farm my family bought in the 1930's. 140 acres for $3,300. Imagine the return? Monetarily and in memories.

He saw the old farmhouse and asked about it. I told him his great grandmother lived there when she was little. He though that was super neat.

Then we crossed the field and re-entered the woods and asked if we could sit a while. So we sat down and it wasn't too long until he was sound asleep in the wind and cold. I also have a picture of that. You don't get a nap that good on the couch.

Then I woke him up about 1/2 hour later and we continued on.

Wasn't too long after we started walking that we kicked out a buck and doe. They're always a joy to see in the woods even when they aren't in season. We walked further and talked about the trees and rocks and leaves and the farmhouse. Then we came to the old spring house that to this day supplies the farm with fresh mountain water as it has for decades. Still supplied by a trickle that comes right out from underneath a ledge.

We sat a little after that until it started getting a little too windy. Squirrel hunting isn't very good in the wind. They don't like their tails blowing around.

We went to leave and I asked him which way it was to the truck, he thought for a second and pointed towards the direction of the truck. Pretty good sense of direction for a 6 year old.

We made our way back out and talked more about the trees and wind and deer. Then he saw a big rock ledge and wanted his picture taken on top, so I let him climb up. Got a picture of that too.

We made it back to the field we first crossed heading in and he said of the view, "Dad, I can see the whole world from up here!" That's right buddy, isn't it beautiful?

Then back to the truck.

I love hunting and so will he. We didn't get any squirrels or even see any , but he has memories to last a lifetime now. Nothing like passing on the tradition of "murderous rage". Also, no dogs were hurt in the making of these memories.

So anyone who simply says "Hunting and hunters are bad and just want to kill and blah blah blah", have NO IDEA what they're talking about.

Well I'm really good at archery. I have even won some tournaments, but I only shot at targets.

Even with a good archer, its not easy to get a clean kill. Most of the "hunters " I have seen are pretty bad shots.Also if there is the tiniest twig, I can make an arrow really go haywire.

I can also agree that deer can over populate an area. Indians used to hunt them all year, sometimes with snares.There are more deer now in most areas than there were many years ago I have seen herds of deer in fields along the Taconic highway of 30-40 of them, Some years they are stunted and very small,..for lack of food. Many never make it thru winter. Lots of car accidents because of car/deer impacts.

So much more humane to let the deer starve in February than have the game commission manage the heard size in December???????

Besides, with less deer on the road - how on earth can I possibly hit another one??????

I started putting headlights on my bullets, just so the deer around will jump in front of it.

Richard [MI]:

You can't hunt cows for the following reasons:

1. They're not that sporting since they stay still most of the day.

2. They aren't free-range. Most cows are owned by ranchers and ranchers shoot poachers.

3. A 1000-2000 lb cow is very hard to drag through the fields and strap on hoist into the truck.

bud, you didn't state if there is animosity between you as adjacent owners, or if your dog crossed the line. Either way you should get your state econ officer involved. At the very least a tree stand should not be oriented toward your property line and perhaps you can have it removed.

As for hunters who give hunting a bad name, I have dealt w/ this on my hill and the DEC officers came and ticketed, revoked hunting privileges and took everyone's firearm and atv away.

I came to hunting late in life mainly to get the drunk hunting yahoos from abusing my property. Good points made about all 2 and 4 legged creatures sporting orange. As soon as they learned I was going to be in the woods, 20+ of them disappeared. They didn't want to get shot by a newbie!

I come to hunting with the utmost respect for the significance of taking a life. I don't get trophy hunting and all the promotion it gets in field and stream. That said I made the most of the 8 point buck I got this rifle season (buck only), learned to butcher it myself and have about 100 lbs of grass fed meat that I know where it came from. The rest of my diet is mainly family farmed local ag, if I don't grow it myself. Have not had McDonalds in many, many years. Ok if you do.

Deer browse affects the ability of native plants to regenerate in the NE, as invasive species like barberry take hold, and diseased trees like beech take over what used to be mixed hardwood forests as maple and birch are chewed to the ground. A good test of browse pressure is to fence off a circle and see what survives inside it. So there is a place for regulated, ethical hunting. And as others have noted you have to love wildlife and all the wonders nature provides when you tune in and watch.

BTW the largest buck any of the oldtime yahoos from long Island ever got was 6 point in 30 years. I recognize my good fortune and the role quality deer mgnt. can play in increasing wildlife diversity in the landscape.

Yikes!

Coulda shot you.

Pull his license.