Man Hunting with His Son Accused of Killing a Woman's Beagle and Chocolate Lab By Sean Neumann

A hunter has been accused of killing two pet dogs in an Indiana neighborhood using a bow and arrow while out hunting deer with his son, according to police.

John Lowe and his son Hayden Lowe have been charged in connection with the deaths of a beagle and chocolate Labrador retriever, the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office in Indiana announced last week.

The father and son were reportedly deer hunting when the father decided to shoot and kill the two neighborhood pets, authorities said, according to reports by the South Bend Tribune and local WNDU.

Police were called to a street in LaPorte, Ind., on Tuesday, Oct. 21 after a woman said she found her pet beagle dead “on a nearby parcel of property” to her home.

“The beagle had sustained a fatal injury to the rib cage area,” the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office said. Meanwhile, the woman said her chocolate Lab was missing.

Investigators spoke with a local hunter, who told police “that John Lowe was not only responsible for the death of the beagle, but also the death of the chocolate Labrador,” the sheriff’s office said.

Police then allegedly “learned that Hayden Lowe had discarded the chocolate Labrador at another location,” the sheriff’s office added.

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According to the Tribune, citing police, the hunter who spoke with police told them he heard the two dogs moving in the woods before then hearing them whimpering and yelping loudly. The hunter then said he crossed paths with John, who told him he and his son were looking for a place to discard the dogs’ bodies.

John later admitted to shooting and killing the dogs when interrogated by police, police said, according to the Tribune.

John, 58, was charged with two felonies for killing a domestic animal and for obstruction of justice. Hayden, 22, was charged with felony obstruction of justice.

The sheriff’s office said the father and son were later released on cash bond.