Family Mourns Dog Shot During Walk

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

NBC30

GRISWOLD, Conn. -- It was a sad Christmas for a family whose dog was shot while out for a walk in Griswold Sunday.


George Minzy said he was walking his two dogs near his son's house Sunday afternoon. His chocolate Labrador, Dallas (not shown), was about 50 feet ahead of him when five or six rifle shots rang out.

Dallas was hit twice and died.

State Department of Environmental police searched the area with Minzy, but couldn't find foot tracks.

Minzy says they found all-terrain-vehicle tracks, but weren't able to determine the vehicle's owner.

The DEP is investigating and the family is offering a $500 reward for information

[PitBullie09]

That is so sad.. I know how it feels for your dog to get shot.

[mulroony]

That is horrible. Not that I condone it but why was the dog offleash and so far away from him??

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Originally Posted by mulroony

That is horrible. Not that I condone it but why was the dog offleash and so far away from him??

I wondered the same thing. I'm hoping for a follow up story that might explain it. Still a terrible thing though.

[shandoggy1]

The poor baby

[BellFounder]

Originally Posted by mulroony

That is horrible. Not that I condone it but why was the dog offleash and so far away from him??

If there is no leash law and no hunting in that particular place why should the dog be on the leash? 50ft isnt exactly far either, doesnt sound like they were near a road or anything.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Either way - 50 feet isn't that far away and along with the loss of the dog, my concern is why would anyone in their right mind be shooting at anything that close to a human?

This was someone who not only had no feeling for the dogs but life in general. Someone who really needs serious help.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

The latest info:

Reward Offered For Information About Fatal Shooting Of Dog

POSTED: 6:25 am EST December 27, 2005
UPDATED: 8:02 am EST December 27, 2005

GRISWOLD, Conn. -- Strangers are showing sympathy for a family whose dog was fatally shot on Christmas Day, and are offering reward money for information to help find the killer.

Michael McKenna read about the Minzy family of Baltic whose chocolate-colored Labrador was shot Sunday. He also has a chocolate-colored Lab and decided to do something.

McKenna joined several others in eastern Connecticut and added to the reward money. He is offering $100 added to the $500 posted by the Minzy family.

The Connecticut Humane Society also has promised $500, bringing the total reward to more than $1,000.

George Minzy was walking his two dogs near his son's house in Griswold. His dog, Dallas, was about 50 feet ahead of him when five or six rifle shots rang out. Dallas was struck twice and died.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating.

[mulroony]

I am glad to see that there is such an outcry from the community.

Leash laws or not I still follow Murphy's Law, and 16 yards is too much distance between me and my unleashed pet.

Crossfire - Think of Wisconsin though. They came much closer then you would imagine they could, to make it legal to kill free roaming cats. It would have given people the right to hunt in their own backyard.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Crossfire - Think of Wisconsin though. They came much closer then you would imagine they could, to make it legal to kill free roaming cats. It would have given people the right to hunt in their own backyard.

Oh I know! The thought of it just makes me ill.

[CTDog]

This happened in the next town over from me. It was a sunday, Christmas and deer season is over with here so I guess owner didn't think it would be unsafe to take take a quiet walk in the woods behind his son's house. Apparently they frequently do this and thank god the grand kids weren't with them on this walk.

What is particularly sad is that they just lost a yellow lab to an illness two weeks ago and now their 3rd dog, black lab, is all alone.
It's just so senseless.

[Tiffany0204]

Originally Posted by mulroony

Crossfire - Think of Wisconsin though. They came much closer then you would imagine they could, to make it legal to kill free roaming cats. It would have given people the right to hunt in their own backyard.

I remember that. The main thing being that they couldn't shoot domesticated cats, only 'ferel' ones. ha! Like that many people will take the time to check to see if it's ferel or domesticated.


On topic:

To me, regardless of how far away it was from the owner, the fact that someone shot at it amazes me. I mean, it's a dog! To be shooting from that far away that they couldn't see/hear anyone leaving... well would make me think that the person had a telescope on their rifle.

Logic to me would seem that they knew what they were shooting at... but that's just my opinion.

[GSD]

50 ft off leash in a wooded area on your son's property is nothing. If you're not allowed to have your dog offleash in this environment, then get me back to America please I seem to be somewhere else.
I can easily let my dog that far from me, and often do, there is no reason one should expect there dog to be shot for being 50 ft away anywhere, leash law or not.

As for the cat hunting in WI, just to clarify, it wouldn't give people the right to hunt cats in their backyards. Allowing people to shoot nusaince cats would not supercede other firearm laws in effect. If someone lived in the country and could fire a gun around there, then they could, and you know what, its been happening for as long as their have been guns in the US, this law wasn't going to change anything. And if you live in town, well you can't shoot cats. Couldn't before the law was proposed, and you couldn't if the law was passed.

[Mellie]

Ugh.
The dog should not have been shot. Period.
Leash laws, etc, are moot points compared to the fact that a harmless family pet was blatantly killed.

I live in an area where hunting is common. I will not walk my dogs in certain areas during hunting season. Even in non-hunting areas, they wear reflective orange vests.
I am paranoid about something like this happening to one of my babies.

Bless you, Dallas.
I hope the shooter is caught and the Minzy family finds closure.

[mulroony]

I did not know he was on his son's property it just said near his son's property. If you are walking around my folks house or my apartment (2 different towns) w/ your dog 50 ft away from you, you are going to scare the **** out of a lot of people. Out in public 50 ft is a big deal to me. And 50 ft in a city is much different then 50 ft in a rural area. I agree even if the dog was 1,000 ft away or even a stray if it was not presenting a threat it should not have been shot.

I know people have been killing feral cats on their property for a long time, but it doesn't make it right. I am not exactly sure of their firearm laws in Wisconsin, but what about bows, pellet guns, knives, etc??? A miss aimed arrow is just as dangerous as a bullet. The stupidity is unless you manage to destroy all the cats, and any surrounding populations the problem will nto be solved. The cats are there for a reason, remove the reason and the cat will go.