Owners speak out after Shellbrook-area dog shooter sentenced

Boettcher’s dog Sima, an eight-year-old Labrador-Great Pyranese cross, was present during the conflict while Boettcher’s family was outside tending to the garden.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Duncan explained some of the facts heard in court.

“After the complainant (Boettcher) left, the dog Sima, stayed on the accused’s (Long’s) property and the accused, for whatever reason, shot the dog,” Duncan said.

Boettcher and Long had gotten into a physical conflict, and Boettcher called his wife and children – two seven-year-old twins and a 12-year-old – to tell them leave the home for a safer location out of fear of retaliation. Boettcher headed to the RCMP station in Shellbrook to lay charges while they heeded his request, Boettcher’s wife Andrea Schommer said.

Sima’s injuries were discovered by a neighbour, who Boettcher had called to make sure his family had left. Sima’s had made his way back into his owners’ yard, Schommer said.

The following day, they took Sima to the veterinarian and the decision was made to put him down.

Some of the long-standing issues between the neighbours had, as Boettcher explained, revolved around Sima.

Sima had been their family dog since he was a puppy, and Boettcher said the Longs had been interested in bringing Sima into their own home for years. However, Boettcher’s family wasn’t interested.

Additionally, the Longs’ dog would head over to the Boettcher’s acreage, which is about 400 metres away from the Longs’ home and the two dogs would go out together, Boettcher said. The Long’s failure to heed Boettcher’s request for them to stop letting their dog out led to an ongoing struggle, he said.

Long had a friendly and trusting relationship with Sima – a dog without a mean bone in his body – before the July 2014 incident, Boettcher said.

Boettcher had made another request for Long’s family to keep out of contact with Sima that night, and it wasn’t well-received by Long,

“I’m thoroughly disgusted” and nauseated by the actions, he said, that were taken against a “helpless animal that had no defence.”

The brunt of the pain felt by Long’s family of five landed on his children, he said.

Long “stole three young children’s pets and broke their hearts,” Boettcher said. He recalled the day they buried Sima on their land, saying it would be impossible not to cry seeing how sad his children were. Their 12-year-old in particular had been close with Sima.

The violent nature of Sima’s death gave the children “nightmares for months,” Schommer said.

Due to their suffering, Boettcher is not satisfied with the sentence Long received.

However, Boettcher and Schommer said their family is looking for closure with the sentence.

“There’s probably a lot of different opinions on that, at this point we would really just like to be able to move on,” Schommer said.

Duncan said the Crown is satisfied with the six-month probation “to ensure that he got a criminal record out of this”, whereas the defence had asked for a conditional discharge.

He acknowledged the difficult circumstances the Boettchers have been through.

“I think it (the sentence) does accomplish something in that there’s a donation being made to the SPCA that recognizes, you know, Sima,” Duncan said.

claskowski@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk

by Chelsea Laskowski

Owners speak out after Shellbrook-area dog shooter sentenced

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