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Article Archive > 2 dogs shot while attacking sheep in Marlboro 2 dogs shot while attacking sheep in Marlboro MARLBORO - A man shot two dogs, killing one, after they attacked livestock on his property Sunday morning, killing a baby lamb and injuring two adult sheep. The property owner, Mark Maurer, used a 12-gauge shotgun and birdshot to kill one of the female shepherd mix dogs and wound the other, said Victor "Buddy" Amato, chief of police for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who investigated. The incident occurred on Maurer's property at 255 Tennent Road about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, when Maurer heard the lamb's bleating and saw the dogs attacking the animals, Amato said. The dogs belonged to Linda and Albert Adams of 27 Station Road in the Morganville section, Amato said. They live about a half-mile away from Maurer. The dog that was killed was hit in the shoulder and heart area, Amato said. Amato, Marlboro Animal Control Officer Anthony Lema and the Marlboro police pursued the other dog after it fled the property with injuries to its head, Amato said. The property is at least 100 yards off the road, and the nearest neighbors are several hundred yards away. The dog initially headed east through a swamp area, looped around and then headed back west toward Station Road, eventually putting itself back in its pen, where one of the owners discovered its injuries and took it to the Garden State Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, Amato said. Amato estimated that the dog fled for about a half-mile before returning home. It was grazed on its head behind one of its ears and was expected to live, Amato said. Lema said the dogs' owners will be issued summonses for letting the animals run at large. A Marlboro police spokesman could not be reached for comment, but Amato, who worked with Marlboro police in investigating the incident, said Maurer would not face any charges, criminal or otherwise. "His property is farm assessed, and as such, he's justified in shooting the dogs to protect his livestock," Amato said. Amato said that Marlboro animal control had received complaints about the dogs getting loose before, and because of the complaint history, they were able to locate the owners easily. Maurer said he had seven sheep on his property. He also has goats, but they were not injured. Maurer declined further comment. "I'll let the police reports speak for themselves," he said. Albert Adams said he planned to apologize to Maurer and wanted to make restitution for the damages. Amato said that he was impressed with how the dogs' owners were handling the situation, and noted that they had just finished installing an electric fence on their property to keep the dogs from running away. "They're not negligent people; this was just an unfortunate incident," he said.
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