A Steamboat Springs Police Department officer is being criminally charged with shooting and killing a local man\u2019s dog while hunting for beavers on private property south of the city.<\/p>\n
Robert Sadowski, 35, faces a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals, according to court documents obtained from the Routt County Justice Center. Routt County Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies investigated the case and issued the citation.<\/p>\n
The police department is conducting a separate, internal investigation into Sadowski\u2019s conduct, according to Chief Cory Christensen. His agency will not take any action in the investigation until the conclusion of the criminal case. That means Sadowski will continue to work as usual for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
The dog\u2019s owner, longtime resident Eaton Nilsson, approached the Steamboat Pilot & Today because he was concerned about Sadowski\u2019s conduct with a firearm and the risk it could pose to public safety.<\/p>\n
The alleged crime occurred Oct. 3 on property along Routt County Road 20, about 8 miles south of Steamboat, according to a report from the Sheriff\u2019s Office. Sadowski does not live on the property but was helping a caretaker there kill some beavers that reportedly were causing a nuisance.\u00a0He was off-duty at the time and had a valid small game license, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three dogs were on the property, including Nilsson\u2019s 14-year-old female black lab, named Zora. Sadowski told deputies that all of the dogs were with him for most of the day. While he was walking near a pond toward an area the beavers had clogged, Sadowski heard a rustle behind him in the grass. <\/p>\n
The vegetation was about waist-high, according to the report, and Sadowski claimed he could see something moving in the grass that he thought was the glint of a beaver tail. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as the animal poked its head out of the tall grass, Sadowski took the shot,\u201d the report states. <\/p>\n
Deputies found Zora\u2019s body with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the report. They helped Nilsson retrieve the dog and take the animal to the Routt County Humane Society for cremation. <\/p>\n
Nilsson had owned Zora since the dog was a puppy, and he used the dog for bird hunting. In a letter to the court, Nilsson explained that his dog, after years of hunting experience, knew how to stay safe around guns. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was trained to stay behind hunters, out of harm\u2019s way until a retrieve was necessary,\u201d he wrote in the letter. <\/p>\n
He therefore sees Sadowski\u2019s sudden use of a firearm as reckless, having taken a shot before clearly seeing his target.<\/p>\n