Couple's heartbreak after their pet dogs 'shot dead by neighbour'
A couple has been left heartbroken after the death of their two dogs who were allegedly shot by a neighbour in South Australia’s Mid North.
Brad and Donna Elson initially thought their Labradors, Yoda and Darcy, had run away after they went missing from their Riverton property on Tuesday.
The couple feared the worst and went to police who discovered the two dead dogs on a nearby property on Saturday.
It is alleged their 68-year-old neighbour killed the pooches because they had wandered onto his yard.
Ms Elson said the dogs would have meant no harm.
“These dogs wouldn’t have licked him to death, they just thought he probably was playing,” she said.
“Obviously he shot them at very close range.”
The alleged shooter has since had his guns seized.
He is facing a number of offences that could result in jail time.
But the Elsons said that was cold comfort because no penalty would bring their dogs back.
“Nothing’s going to take the pain away,” Ms Elson said.
“I just wish that we’d found them a bit sooner and I could’ve said goodbye.”
The man will front court next year and could face four years’ jail.
