A South Kitsap man shot and killed his neighbor’s dog when it came into his yard New Year’s Day, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office reported.

According to the incident report, a 41-year-old resident of S.E. View Park Road in Olalla called 911 shortly before noon Jan. 1 and said his neighbor shot his dog.

When a deputy arrived, the victim said he has been having an ongoing dispute with his neighbor over both of their dogs running loose.

The victim said he had turned over a dog to the Kitsap Humane Society, and a second dog, a boxer, had been released back to him after it was determined to not be dangerous.

He said he thought the boxer was chained in his yard that evening when he heard three gunshots. When he went outside, the victim said he found his boxer dead in the neighbor’s yard.

The victim, who was very upset, told the deputy his neighbor likely shot his dog because it had been in his yard again.

When the deputy contacted the neighbor, the 31-year-old man admitted to shooting the dog and showed the deputy where it was.

The deputy noted that the dog’s body was lying about 90 feet from the house’s front deck, and about 20 feet from the fence separating the two homes. The deputy said he did not see any animal cages or animals near the dog.

The neighbor said the deceased dog had attacked his goats in the past, and he was worried about both his goats and chickens, which were in pens about 270 feet from the dog. When the boxer had attacked the goats, the dog’s owner had paid for their treatment.

The deputy noted that the neighbor could not explain why he feared the dog would attack his animals again that night, or what behavior he had exhibited. The deputy asked him if had tried to get the dog off his property before shooting him, such as by yelling or throwing rocks, and the neighbor said he hadn’t.

The neighbor said his wife was home when he shot the dog, and showed the deputy the Remington 30-06 rifle he used to kill the dog.

The man said he shot the rifle while standing on his front porch, and the deputy noted that the weapon would have been facing directly toward the road with no obstacles.

The deputy said he was forwarding the report to the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office for possible charges of animal cruelty and illegal discharge of a firearm.