Montana woman charged for killing and skinning a dog she thought was a wolf

Amber Barnes posted on social media that she killed and skinned an animal that appears to be a domestic dog.

A Montana woman had been charged with animal cruelty for shooting and skinning a domestic dog that she mistook for a wolf.

Amber Rose Barnes of Kalispell posted on social media in late September that she was hunting black bear when she came across a wolf pup that she harvested. She posted photos of a husky that she killed and skinned.

“Was a great feeling to text my man and say I just smoked a wolf pup,” she wrote.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office said 11 husky and shepherd mix dogs were found abandoned in the area Barnes was hunting and it's believed she shot one of them.

In a follow-up post, Barnes acknowledged that the animal she thought was a wolf was actually a husky but she said regardless of the species she would have shot the animal anyway because it was “growling, howling, coming at me like it’s going to eat me.”

Barnes’ boyfriend, Frank Tallent, posted on social media that shooting and skinning the dog was a mistake.

“My girlfriend was out hunting and shot a (expletive) dog that was dumped out in the woods,” he wrote. “No charges have been filed or will be filed because no laws were broke.”

The Flathead Sheriff’s Office has now charged Barnes with a citation for animal cruelty. NBC Montana reports Barnes was charged with a citation rather than a felony because officials can prove negligence, but not intent.

Barnes will be required to appear in court.