STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) — A Bancroft man has entered a not guilty plea to charges that he shot a dog while hunting in Portage County last winter.
Travis Sullivan is accused of shooting a pet wirehaired pointer mix in December 2018 while hunting with a friend in the Almond School Forest. The 38-year-old says he fired at something running about 75 yards away from him but didn’t initially know what he was shooting at because he only saw the backside of the animal.
Later he told police he heard a “yelp” and thought he may have hit a coyote. Sullivan and his friend tried to track the animal, but couldn’t find it.
Another man later confronted the group about the injured dog as they were trying to leave the forest.
The dog was able to make it back to a neighbor’s home, who took it to a vet and later he was put down because of the injuries.
Sullivan faces charges of mistreating animals by use of a dangerous weapon and could be sentenced to 15 months in jail. Bond was set at $1,000 signature. His next hearing is set for July 15th.
