A hunter shot and killed two pet dogs with a bow and arrow while hunting deer with his son, according to authorities.
John Lowe, 58, killed a woman’s two pooches — a beagle, Josie, and a chocolate lab, Bear — while hunting on private property in Indiana, according to the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office.
He was busted after another hunter reported hearing the two dogs yelping in pain — then seeing Lowe and his son, Hayden Lowe, 22, dragging the dead lab along a path, according to court documents obtained by the South Bend Tribune.
The elder Lowe told the other hunter they were looking for somewhere to discard the dog’s body, the affidavit said.
The dogs’ devastated owner later found the body of her beagle with a fatal injury to its rib cage. A GPS tracking device attached to Josie’s collar had been destroyed.
Lowe later admitted shooting the dogs, claiming he was defending himself because they were barking and moving toward him aggressively.
However, police did not buy that story — with the dogs’ wounds suggesting the arrows were shot from an elevated position like a tree stand, according to the court documents.
The key witness also said he did not hear the dogs barking before they started yelping, and claimed the dogs had always been friendly in his previous encounters with them.
Lowe denied that he killed the dogs because he thought they would scare away the deer, the documents said.
The elder Lowe is charged with two counts of killing a domestic animal and obstruction of justice, both felonies. His son was also charged with obstruction of justice.
They were released from the La Porte County Jail after paying a cash bond.
