STANDISH – A Siberian husky named Niko was shot to death in the woods in Standish Saturday morning, according to Jack Freitas, the town’s animal control officer.

An eyewitness came forward Tuesday to tell authorities the dog, then thought missing, had been shot after seeing posted flyers for the dog.

Niko, 11 months old, got loose Saturday morning from a harness that was tied to a basketball hoop. He and another family dog, a lab named Jackson, ran off into the woods behind the home. The lab returned, but Niko did not.

According to Barrett, the eyewitness to the shooting was logging on his property about a mile and a half from the Barrett’s home and saw a hunter shoot the dog, which was no more than 15 feet away and in a seated position. The dog was shot three times.

Freitas, who said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if authorities were able to make an arrest in the shooting by the end of Tuesday, has turned the investigation over to the Maine Game Warden Service. Michael St. Pierre is investigating.

Freitas said he couldn’t confirm whether the shooter was a hunter, saying only that it was a man who was in the woods with a gun.”

Niko