A 7-year-old Siberian husky was shot in the leg while his owner was working inside his garage.

"I heard a loud bang and then I heard Dozer whining. I said to my son, 'Somebody's shooting at Dozer,'" said Philip Sherrick, Sr.

Sherrick went outside and saw the armed man standing in his driveway who said, "It's just pellets," and walked away, Sherrick said.

  (Photo courtesy of WMUR News 9)

Sherrick called police and drove Dozer to the vet hospital, where he had emergency surgery to amputate his right rear leg at the hip.

Police recovered the shell casings from the rifle and are now trying to determine to whom the gun belongs.

Sherrick said he believes he knows who shot his dog, but he doesn't know why.

Dozer is well-known among the neighbors on Marcy Hill Road who said sometimes Dozer wanders when he gets off his tie out. The staff at the Citgo station in town were horrified when they heard that Dozer was shot and sent him a get well card.

Nicole Greene, a clerk at the Citgo station at 37 Monadnock Highway, said the dog and that its owner, Philip Sherrick, is a frequent customer.  "We were devastated when we heard about it," she said".

Update 2/16/11:  Police have arrested a man accused of shooting a dog in Swanzey while the dog was sleeping in its doghouse when shot.

Police arrested a neighbor, Michael Bailey, 47, of 113 Marcy Hill Road and charged him with two felony counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and one felony count of cruelty to animals for firing 2 shots that struck the dog.

  (Photo courtesy of WMUR News 9)

Bailey is being held at the Cheshire County House of Corrections in Keene on $25,000 cash bail. He is not allowed to contact the owners of the dog.

Update 2/25/11:  A Swanzey man accused of shooting his neighbor's dog appeared in Keene District Court on February 23, 2011.

Bailey waived a probable cause hearing, meaning his case will be forwarded to Cheshire County Superior Court, where felony-level cases are heard. Bailey faces two counts of reckless conduct and a charge of cruelty to an animal.

During the hearing, Bailey's attorney, Paul G. Schweizer of Keene, asked Judge Edward J. Burke to lower the $25,000 bail set at Bailey's arraignment.  If released from jail, Bailey would agree to live at his parents' house in Keene, Schweizer said, adding that Bailey has lived next door to Sherrick for six years without a previous incident.

Assistant Cheshire County Attorney Jean M. Kilham argued against lowering the bail, which she said was based on the seriousness of accusations against Bailey and a criminal record that includes two previous convictions on drug charges and a 2005 drunken driving conviction.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, Bailey of Swanzey, NH, at age 39 had his drivers license revoked in April 2003 and again at age 41, in September 2004 for driving while intoxicated.

Bailey's girlfriend, who was at his house at the time of the shooting, told investigators that Bailey was drunk when he left the house with a rifle that evening and she later heard gunshots, Kilham said.

The gun police say Bailey used in the shooting has not been recovered, although Bailey's girlfriend and family members confirmed that he owns one matching the description, Kilham said.

Kilham requested that if Bailey was released that he not be allowed to contact the Sherricks or his girlfriend and he be restricted from entering Swanzey. As of this morning, Bailey's bail conditions were unchanged.

Update 4/16/11:  A Swanzey man said he was forced to put his dog, Dozer, to sleep on April 15, 2011.

Dozer's owner, Phil Sherrick, said the shooting changed his dog and he was left with no other decision.

"One time he'd be good and one time he'd be bad, and I was just afraid he would bite somebody," Sherrick said. "The vet said he was like a Dr. Jekyll and Hyde, so you couldn't trust him now."

    (Photos courtesy of WMUR News 9)

"I've been working out back to try and not think about it, but of course I can't," Sherrick added. "But I'll survive, I'll make it."

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