Poteau Man Charged With Killing Pair Of Hunting Dogs

A Poteau man was booked into the LeFlore County jail charged on three counts of cruelty to animals following an incident on February 22, 2013. 

Authorities in LeFlore County say two champion hunting dogs taking part in a United Kennel Club coon hunt on Saturday were shot and killed. A third dog was wounded and is expected to survive.

A LeFlore County Sheriff's deputy arrested Douglas Frerich, 33, after he admitted to killing the dogs, according to the arrest affidavit.

In the affidavit, Frerich told deputies he heard the dogs on his property and said they were being aggressive.

One of the dogs' owners, Larry Stacy, told CBS affiliate KFSM-TV in Fort Smith he doesn't understand why Frerich shot his dog.

"Coons and dogs can't read," Larry Stacy said. "Sometimes there's a portion of land they get on that we don't want them on. But they end up there because they're running a coon."

Stacy's nephew, Drew Cheshier, said the dogs, equipped with GPS units, got a couple of miles ahead of them. He told KFSM they started heading towards the dogs, thinking maybe they'd cornered a raccoon when he says he heard gunshots.

"We were scared for our dogs," Drew Cheshier said. "We wanted to make sure they were in the best health they could be. And hope that what we feared had happened had not happened. Come to find out, that's exactly what happened."

The affidavit states all three dogs were shot with a small caliber firearm.