FENTON – The man who shot and killed two runaway dogs in December did so in defense of his livestock and himself, and so the shooting was justified and he will not be charged with their deaths, the IDNR investigator said.

The man was fined for illegally disposing of the dogs’ bodies by dumping them in a ditch along a right-of-way, which technically is a vehicle code violation, Conservation Police officer Ron Palumbo said Friday.

The man turned himself in Wednesday, Palumbo said, adding that he did so 2 months after the shooting because Facebook comments had “terrified” him and his wife, making them reluctant to step forward.

Although the citation is a matter of public record, because of the hostile response the shooting generated on social media, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is requiring Sauk Valley Media to file a Freedom of Information Act request for the man’s name. The IDNR has 5 business days from the day the request is received to respond.

The 2-year-old boxer, Duke, and 3-year-old American bulldog-boxer mix, Max, slipped their kennel Dec. 8 after owners Jeremy and Cerissa Chenoweth left for work. The bodies were found a few weeks later along a dirt road about 3 miles away.

Both dogs were shot in the chest. Duke also was shot twice in the head.

Unidentified hunters were the initial suspects, given the season, and because the chest wounds were made with a large caliber gun, and because its not uncommon for angry hunters to shoot dogs that interrupt their hunt.

A Facebook campaign find the shooter was launched, as was a GoFundMe account to raise money to add to the $5,000 reward the Chenoweths were offering.

Now that he knows what happened, Jeremy Chenoweth, an equine dentist, understands the circumstances, agrees with the outcome and bears no ill will toward the couple.

“I have peace of mind now,” he said Friday.

According to Palumbo:

It was around 10:30 p.m. and the man and his wife had just returned from a wedding and were preparing to go to bed when they heard one of their calves bawling in distress.

They ran outside and saw one of the dogs had clamped onto the nose of a bull calf and pinned it to the ground, while the other was circling and biting the animal. Both dogs were covered in blood.

The couple tried yelling at the dogs to scare them away, and the pair let loose of the calf and “came at them, and that’s when he shot them,” Palumbo said.

The man took pictures that showed the skin on the calf’s nose was torn off, and Palumbo also examined its scars Wednesday and was satisfied that the killings were justified, he said.

The wounds have healed, but “the calf is still skittish to this day,” he said.

The couple wanted to come forward, but “they were terrified,” Palumbo said. “The social media stuff had them scared to death. They didn’t known what to do.”

Eventually, the shooting festered and ate at them, and the man turned himself in.

Facebook didn’t help Palumbo’s efforts, either, he said.

“I had [innocent] people that I was really investigating based on statements I was given.”