Maine Wardens offer $2K reward to find ‘cowardly’ man who shot dog

The Maine Warden Service is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man who shot a domestic dog on a hiking trail in North Yarmouth on Friday.

The incident happened at about 11 a.m. as three people were walking their dogs on a marked trail in the Knights Pond Preserve, according to the Warden Service.

One of their dogs was shot about 20 feet ahead of them.

According to the Warden Service, the shooter was described as a man in his 30s, with dark hair and scruffy facial hair. He was wearing a blaze orange vest, a blaze orange hat and camouflage pants. The owners of the dog had a brief encounter with the shooter, but he quickly fled the scene.

A man matching this description was seen leaving the area in a dark-colored, full-size pickup truck, according to the Warden Service.

“This atrocious, negligent shooting is both heinous and inexcusable, and is aggravated by the cowardly act of the shooter fleeing the scene,” Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso said in a statement. “The incomprehensible and appalling act of one individual tarnishes the reputation of all of Maine’s 230,000 hunters.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Maine Warden Service at 207-624-7076, or contact Operation Game Thief at 1-800-ALERT-US.

The Warden Service is also urging the shooter to call 207-624-7076 and turn himself in.