Chesco man charged in police dog death

A Chester County man who mistook a beloved police dog for a coyote and fatally shot it in November was charged yesterday with damage to property.

If found guilty of the summary offense, Dennis Frederick Herr of Glenmoore will have to pay damages estimated at more than $12,000, said Chester County District Attorney Joseph W. Carroll.

The nearly four-month investigation included a reenactment of the events that led to the Nov. 27 shooting of the Brandywine Regional Police Department drug-sniffing dog, Nelo, Carroll said in a news release.

The discovery of Nelo's body on Nov. 29 ended a three-day search for the 16-month-old German shepherd. The news prompted a flood of condolence calls and e-mails, ranging from offers to replace the dog to outrage over his demise.

Herr could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Herr told police he was hunting with his son on wooded property he owns in West Caln Township when he saw what appeared to be a coyote and fired a shot from a tree stand with his Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. Herr said he later realized he shot a dog, but did not see Nelo's police badge and left the area to assist his son with a deer, Carroll said.

The shooting occurred about eight hours after Nelo had been spooked by fireworks and bolted from his handler, and before any public notice that he was missing, Carroll said.

The reenactment, conducted by Wildlife Conservation Officer Scott Frederick, was held on Herr's property under the same conditions that existed on the day of the shooting.

Carroll said he rejected a more serious charge, cruelty to animals, because it required proof "that at the time he shot, Mr. Herr knew [not should have known] he was shooting a dog."

In December, Nelo was memorialized at a church service that included a K-9 procession, eulogies and a bagpiper.

Brandywine Regional Police Chief Mark D. Kocsi said his department was grateful for the closure.

"That's the important thing right now," he said. "We're still in the healing process."

Kocsi said he hoped Scotty, the police dog missing in Gloucester City since Sunday, would be found safely.

"Dogs are very resilient," Kosci said. "He may be fine."