“I would have taken no money at all, paid the vet bill myself, just for him to get a felony. Now (Haers) is going back to Buffalo to get his rifles.”
— Jordan Tomm
ALFRED — A Phelps, N.Y. man who shot two dogs on his property last year in the Town of Alfred, killing one and seriously wounding the other, was cleared of all charges in Alfred Town Court Monday night after he agreed to pay $5,000 to the dogs’ owner in what officials called a “civil compromise.”
Owen Haers, 41, had been charged with two counts of felony aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with the shooting last Nov. 17 on Haers’ land near the Town of Andover line. New York State authorities said the dogs were shot illegally, with one found dead at the scene. The surviving dog ran off into the woods and was not found for more than 12 hours.
The dog was tracked down by a state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) officer and assistance was provided by Dan Hegarty, an Alfred dog control official. The dog that survived sustained wounds to the chest, leg and abdomen, the DEC said.
Jordan Tomm of Alfred Station, owner of Wrangler, a 5-year-old German shorthair pointer who was killed, and Rocky, a beagle mix who survived the shooting after enduring a freezing and snowy night, said he wanted no part of the civil compromise. He maintains that he had urged the Allegany County District Attorney’s office to take the charges to trial and get justice for Wrangler and Rocky.
The Spectator has the full story. Read it HERE.
