Police Dog’s Killing May Be Prosecuted

Prosecutors are considering whether to charge a man who shot and killed a Franklin County sheriff’s dog that apparently strayed onto his rural property.

The 90-pound German shepherd, named Jet, turned up missing on Saturday, said Sheriff’s Cpl. Dan Gayda.

The dog was Gayda’s partner and lived at his rural Walla Walla County home.

Gayda’s 13-year-old son had let the dog loose into the family’s pasture. The dog, a seven-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, had regularly been allowed to run free and had never strayed before, Gayda said.

Authorities received a call Tuesday from someone who told them where the dog’s body could be found, buried in a shallow grave near Gayda’s property.