Carver County man charged after dog killed with bow and arrow

A Carver County man has been charged after admitting to fatally shooting a family’s dog with a bow and arrow last month.

Thirty-three-year-old Benjamin Lee Schroeder is charged with one count of mistreatment of animals, a felony that can carry a sentence of up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

On Oct. 12 at about 7:40 p.m., a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer was told that a dog had been shot and killed, a criminal complaint states.

Bria Swanson told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS last month that the 1-year-old Great Pyrenees, named Reba, had wandered onto neighboring property when she was shot and killed by Schroeder with a bow and arrow.

According to the complaint, Schroeder claimed Reba was chasing deer and "ruining his hunt." He later apologized to the owners and offered to pay for a new dog. He also told KSTP last month that he made a split-second decision and regretted shooting Reba.

Swanson said Reba was a special companion.

"My brother passed away last August, the summer we had gotten Reba, and so she was my mom’s baby, she had Reba as her support and Reba made her feel safe at home, she also protected all of our other pets," Swanson said last month.

Swanson also denied that Reba was chasing deer.

The complaint states another hunter who was in the area told the conservation officer that 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.

Schroeder is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.