Tucker Dog Shot 3.JPG

Shannon Sobus' dog Tucker is seen with Sobus' daughter Lylah, left, and her niece Jasmine, right. An Elbridge woman shot the dog on Saturday.

(Provided Photo)

ELBRIDGE, N.Y. -- The death of a dog that was shot while reportedly chasing a cat has sparked intense debate and controversy as well as death threats.

At about 3 p.m. Saturday police were called to Stevens Road in a rural area in the town of Elbridge.

Deputies from the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office arrived and later called for several state Department of Environmental Conservation officers. A sheriff's office spokesman confirmed that deputies responded and that a dog was shot and killed. The shooter- a 70-year-old grandmother - was charged with shooting a firearm too close to an occupied home.

The episode has sparked a raucous online debate on whether a property owner has the right to kill a trespassing dog that threatens a pet.

On Saturday afternoon Shannon Sobus was at her house playing outside with her daughter, son and two dogs. At one point, she left her 5-year-old daughter and the dogs in the front yard and went inside for a moment to get ready to nurse her 10-month-old son.

Soon after, Sobus said two shots rang out. She thought of her neighbors, who she said shoot off their back porch.

Tucker, Shannon Sobus' dog, was shot and killed Saturday in Elbridge.

"I'm used to them shooting off their back porch ... this sounded different," she said.

Sobus jumped up, rushed outside and found one of her dogs, Tucker, bleeding. The pit bull mix was in the middle of the road. Sobus called her fiance from a cell phone and then dialed 911.

That same afternoon, Susan Leach was sitting on a deck behind her house with her grandson and granddaughter.

Leach said she heard a commotion and saw a large dog chasing her cat toward the house. Leach said the cat, which is 10 years old and has just one tooth, was desperately trying to escape under the deck from the attacking dog.

Leach shot the dog with a .22-caliber rifle because it was trying to kill her cat, she said.

"I feel bad about having done it," Leach said. "I know I should probably not have done that, but the dog was going to kill my cat."

She said that she feels bad about the dog dying, but that she was defending her property and protecting herself and her pet.

Leach -- who is 70 years old and has lived in Elbridge most of her life -- said she and her husband have lived in the same house on Stevens Road for more than 40 years. She said she lived next door to, and was friends with, Sobus' grandmother as well as her mother and several aunts.

The problems with Sobus' dogs began a few years ago, Leach said.

She said the dogs were always running around loose and barked constantly. She said the dogs wandered into her yard many times, growled at her and her husband on occasion and chased them into their garage a few times.

"They do not keep them contained," Leach said.

Leach said she and her husband took Sobus to Elbridge Town Court over the dogs barking. Sobus confirmed that she and her neighbors ended up in court. She paid a fine.

After the incident Saturday, a Facebook page supporting Sobus and her dog popped up. The page "Justice For Tucker" received more than 1,000 likes. Hundreds of posts and comments raged back and forth over who did what and whether it was just. An online petition received more than 1,200 signatures.

Many comments urged violent retaliation against Leach and included her address, but some have since been removed. Others accused Sobus of being at fault for letting her dogs run loose.

Leach said that in addition to death threats on social media, she has received threatening phone calls.

On Tuesday, Sobus said a sheriff's deputy arrived at her house to speak with her about about the Facebook page. Sobus said the deputy warned her about threatening remarks people had made and implied that the page should be taken down since the matter was closed.

Sobus said she didn't start the page, but agreed to its creation. She is an administrator for the page.

Sobus said she is disappointed police did not explore the possibility of animal cruelty or child endangerment charges against her neighbor. Sobus said her daughter was playing in their front yard when the dog was shot.

She said she questions whether Leach has a pet cat and if her dog Tucker was actually on Leach's property. She said she wanted police to look for bullet casings, examine a blood trail more closely and interview more witnesses.

She said Leach was familiar with her dog because it used to play with the dog of one of Leach's relatives.

"This is not a dog she did not know," Sobus said.

A sheriff's office spokesman said deputies turned the case over to the DEC. Leach confirmed that a DEC officer issued her a ticket for discharging a firearm within 500 feet of an occupied dwelling. She is to appear in Elbridge Town Court on Monday.

Sobus said a DEC officer was going to issue her a summons for not having her dogs on a leash, but instead let her off with a warning.

A DEC spokeswoman could not provide details of the case on Wednesday and Thursday.