Hunter Accidentally Shoots Family Dog

TRURO (CBS) - Henry, a family dog, is recovering after being accidentally shot by a hunter as the dog walked with its owner in the woods.

"Henry is expected to have a full recovery and return home to his family tomorrow," police said in a statement.

Police responded to a wooded area near the Pine Grove Cemetery in south Truro after receiving a 911 call on Friday afternoon, about 2:30 p.m. from a resident reporting that his Weimaraner dog had been shot by a hunter.

The cemetery borders Cape Cod National Seashore boundaries, where hunting is permitted. The hunter, a Forestdale resident, told police he thought the dog was a deer running through the woods.

When officers and animal control officials responded, they found the dog owner, his two dogs in the back of the vehicle, and two hunters who remained on scene.

Henry, one of the dogs, had a visible gunshot wound to its right upper leg and was taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment, police said.

A preliminary investigation found that the dog owner, dressed in a camouflage jacket, went for a walk with his dogs off-leash. The dog owner told police both dogs were running through the woods when he heard a single gunshot and then a yelp. Both dogs ran from the woods to him.

The dog owner saw that one of his dogs had been shot, and he yelled for the hunter to come out of the woods. The hunter complied. Neither dog was wearing a blaze orange vest or bandana.

The hunter is properly licensed and is cooperating with police as they investigate with the assistance of the state Environmental Police, police said.

Police are urging citizens to wear blaze orange, and also put an orange vest or bandana on their pets, when walking in wooded areas for greater visibility.