A hunter is on trial after killing and skinning two German shepherds he mistook for coyotes last November.

Michael Konschak, a 61-year-old hunter from Carmel, New York faces felony charges of forgery and evidence tampering, as well as misdemeanor charges for illegal hunting and resisting arrest.

The owners of the slain dogs and animal rights activists are hoping prosecutors will also charge him with animal cruelty.

Erin Caviola, of Ridgefield, Connecticut, said that her 10-year-old German shepherds Cimo and Lieben both went missing on November 18. They somehow escaped their yard’s six-foot high fence and ran off into the surrounding woods.

Caviola believes that a bear may have damaged the fence. The family keeps an apiary in the yard, and they believe the predator was trying to get at their beehives.

The family began plastering the neighborhood with missing dog posters and working with local animal control to help locate the dogs.

‘We would drop everything the second we received a possible sighting and rush to the scene, only to be disappointed,’ Caviola wrote in a victim impact statement later read to the judge. ‘We would drive home frustrated, crying, feeling like we let down our innocent dogs who loved us unconditionally.’

Almost a month later, a stranger contacted Caviola and told her that he believed a man had posted photos of their dogs on Facebook – shot, skinned, and beheaded.

Konschak argued that the deaths were accidental and applied for accelerated rehabilitation – a program for first-time offenders that would have seen his charges cleared upon completion.

Konschak’s first court hearing was held on Wednesday in a packed courtroom in Danbury. Supporters and animal rights activists also protested with signs outside the courthouse.

The hunter apologized to the family, and claimed he mistook the dogs for coyotes when he shot them. ‘Please know that it was never my intent that morning to harm the victims’ pets,’ Konschak told the judge.

However, prosecutors argued that there were inconsistencies with the hunter’s story. They argued he should have been able to tell the animals were pets immediately, as Cimo was neutered and Lieben had a hysterectomy scar.

Eventually, a judge in Danbury Superior Court denied Konschak’s request. He is due back in court on April 12, when he will enter a formal plea.

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