WALLOWA — A valuable hunting dog and pet was found shot dead near its owners home near Wallowa, the owner reported.

According to a Facebook post, G.W. Sweeney on March 22 found his 2-year-old redbone coonhound shot to death and dumped along Bear Creek near Wallowa. The dog had been missing since March 13, Sweeney said.

Junior occasionally would run loose, but not often.

“Every now and again he’d take off chasing something,” Sweeney said. “But he’d always come right back.”

A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator, Sweeney said. He said a deputy from the Wallowa County Sheriff’s Office has investigated, looking around the area where the dog was found and asking questions of people in the area. Sgt. Paul Pagano, the investigating deputy, said the investigation has yet to yield any results.

“They told me it’s a felony and more than likely jail time and community service,” Sweeney said.

Pagano said the offense is certainly animal abuse and could be a Class A misdemeanor or a felony.

“The person is looking at jail time and a fine,” the deputy said.

The dog was registered with the American Kennel Club and valued at about $1,500. Sweeney said he has six other dogs in addition to Junior.

He said Junior was shot in the neck and below his tail with a gun larger than a .22-caliber rifle.

Sweeney said he doesn’t like the precedent this sets.

“Whoever is guilty has another thing coming,” he said. “This will really teach somebody to kill somebody’s dog and dump it over the bank of a local road.”

Pagano said Wallowa-area residents are concerned because many have pets.

“It hit people pretty hard in the lower valley,” he said.