Some jail time would be nice

Two brothers from Chartiers Township now face charges, including cruelty to animals, after one hunting dog was shot to death and two others severely wounded on their property in early May. Charles William Habe, 38, and Daniel R. Habe, 60, live on Plum Run Road, where the incident occurred. Three men had their Walker coonhounds on neighboring property, where they had the owner's permission to be, but the dogs, as they are trained to do, followed a raccoon onto the Habes' property and treed the raccoon. The hunters, who were training their animals, said they heard someone yell for another person to "shoot those dogs!" The dog owners yelled that they would retrieve their animals but heard several shots. Charles Habe allegedly fired five rounds at the dogs with a .357-caliber Magnum, as directed by his brother. I just want to commend the Chartiers Township police, township animal control officer Kym Secreet, the state Game Commission and anyone else who was involved in bringing charges against the Habes. People certainly have a right to protect their well-being and their property, but who in their right mind, with any sense of decency, would shoot defenseless animals who posed no threat to them whatsoever? As anyone who owns a dog knows, despite owners' best efforts to train their animals, they will sometimes stray beyond property lines. In the vast majority of these incidents, the animals mean no harm to anyone and come back quickly when called. Of course, when you have lunatics with guns on the other side of the property line, the dogs don't have a chance.