CARNESVILLE - Two beagles being trained to hunt on a rural tract in Franklin County were shot to death, and a $3,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the case.
The shooting occurred Monday morning as two members of the Oconee County-based Tokeena Beagle Club were training a group of dogs several miles northwest of Carnesville.
Ed Hickman's 3-year-old male beagle named Ace was killed instantly. Little Annie, a 3-year-old female beagle that Charles Jordan owned, died during surgery after being rushed to a veterinarian in Lavonia.
Scott Wilson, the club's field trial chairman, says the dogs' owners believe that both beagles were shot with a high-powered rifle.