Carver County man receives probation sentence for fatally shooting dog with bow and arrow

Friday, a man who admitted to fatally shooting a family’s dog with a bow and arrow was sentenced for the 2021 crime.

As previously reported, 34-year-old Benjamin Schroeder pleaded guilty to mistreatment of animals.

A judge stayed a 45-day sentence in the Carver County Jail, and then sentenced Schroeder to three years of supervised probation. He must also pay more than $1,000 in fees.

Court documents say he was hunting when the dog wandered onto a nearby property. Schroeder had previously claimed the dog was chasing deer and ruining his hunt, and then he shot at and killed the dog. He later apologized.

The complaint states another hunter who was in the area told the conservation officer that the dog, a Great Pyrenese named Reba, and another dog had run into the hunting area but weren’t chasing deer or any other predator. The witness said the dogs ran toward Schroeder’s stand and, after a short time, ran away from Schroeder’s stand. However, that’s when the witness saw Reba was injured. A short time later, the witness found Reba dead.

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Records show the charge carried a sentence of up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.