Youngstown man to be charged in shooting of dog

YOUNGSTOWN — A West Side man was taken to jail and will face charges after using a high-powered pellet rifle to shoot his neighbor’s dog Saturday night on Matta Avenue on the West Side, police said.

Frank Bernard, of 232 Matta Avenue, called police at 7:48 p.m. to report that his neighbor, Thomas Kessler, of 245 Matta Ave., had shot his black/gray Labrador mix and that his 3-year-old daughter was playing in his yard at the time and could have been hit.

Police found the dog bleeding and injured on its right side and questioned Kessler, who admitted he shot the dog because it was in his yard, a police report said.

Kessler told police he has terminal cancer and takes the drugs Vicodin and Oxycontin every day. Kessler was taken to Forum Health Northside Medical Center to be checked and then to the Mahoning County Jail.

He was charged with two misdemeanors, killing or injuring animals and using weapons while intoxicated.

Bernard said he was taking the dog to a veterinarian, but the condition of the dog was not available.