Shooting of dog turned over to prosecutor

Mar. 6—ROME — Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to the 1800 block of Dodgeville Road in Rome Township on Thursday on reports of a dog being shot by a person's neighbor.

According to the report, deputies were dispatched just after 6 p.m., and made contact with the owner of the dog, who claimed his neighbor had killed his 7-month-old husky.

According to the report, the husky's owner said he was outside with the dog, and he went inside to check on his son, at which point he heard yelling outside.

When he got back outside, he saw his neighbor across the street running down the driveway with a gun after the husky.

The report states the owner said the husky ran around the area, and the neighbor shot at it while it was in the road, before shooting the dog several times, killing it.

Police spoke to the neighbor who shot the dog, who said a dog had attacked one of the family's chickens. The report notes a rooster had minor injuries, and the neighbor claimed a dog had attacked his chickens twice before, and had killed one.

The neighbor's wife said she, two children and another dog were outside, and she picked up a stick to ward the husky off, before her husband came back out with a gun and shot it.

In the report, she said the dog had been on their property four times over the last year, but deputies noted no reports had been filed with the dog warden.

According to the report, deputies reviewed video of the incident, and found the dog showed no signs of aggression prior to being killed.

Sheriff William Niemi said deputies have investigated the case, and it has been turned over to the Ashtabula County Prosecutor's Office.

No charges had been filed in this case as of Tuesday afternoon.