Having brought up the topic, this reminds of a time long ago...
I was about 9 or 10 years old living with with my mother as my parents separted when I was much younger. I heard the news from my mom that my dad shot my brothers dog, who were all three living in the same home. I never really knew the dog because I never saw it, but I still cried about it as any young, fragile boy would do. Mom brought it up to me as it was on purpose. Later I found out that she said this to put ol' pops down.
Several years later, I moved back with my dad and brother to live country style, any young boys dream. Somehow, someday, I found out the truth of the dog. It was a small dog, size of a whistlepig, brown in color and short to boot. One day my dad looked out the window to see a creature digging in a very active groundhog hole. Almost knowing it was a hog, he grabbed the ol Winchester pump 22 and got steppin to it. A rear quarter shot brought the ol pup down...but still on my dads mind, it was a furry little varmint. A bit later he went to the hole to find my poor ol brothers dog laying there...which was minutes before digging up a groundhog hole. All I can tell you is that it was a very hard time for both of them and he felt terrible about the incident.
Accidents do happen. Make sure of your target before shooting
And good shooting
