Dog shot dead in small eastern Nova Scotia community
Police describe the incident as unusual and say they're taking it very seriously
A dog has been shot dead in a small community in Nova Scotia's Guysborough County in what police describe as a serious and rare incident.
RCMP said the dog had been outside last Friday evening in the area of Highway 7 and Bakers Road in Marie Joseph, about 50 kilometres east of Sheet Harbour.
That's when the owner of the dog, who was not home at the time, received a call from a neighbour saying the dog had been shot and succumbed to his injuries.
The following day, the incident was reported to RCMP.
Cpl. Chris Marshall could not say what kind of dog it was, or why the dog was outside at the time, adding that is part of the investigation.
He described the incident as unusual.
"We're looking at cruelty to an animal, given that the dog were shot, injured and then died from its injuries," Marshall in an interview Thursday.
"But it's also potential firearms charges and those kinds of things too in terms of discharging a firearm, so it's a serious incident and it is rare that we respond to these things."
Police are asking anyone with information on the incident, who may have been in the areas of Highway 7 and Bakers Road or who heard gunshots between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the same area to contact them.