A judge in the case of a Marne man who allegedly shot a Colorado woman’s dog, has delayed the trial until April. Judge Jeffrey Larson on Monday, continued the trial for 56-year old Charles Collins Cutler, until April 16^th. The pretrial conference was also pushed back, and will be held April 8^th in Cass County District Court. His case was originally set to be heard on March 26^th. The judge denied Cutler’s request for a change of venue.

Cutler faces an Aggravated Serious Misdemeanor charge of Animal Abuse, and a Serious Misdemeanor charge of a Reckless Use of a Firearm, in connection with the shooting of a dog which strayed onto his property on December 24^th, 2012. Cutler pleaded not guilty to both charges.

According to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when a dog owned by 23-year old Stacy Ernat from Denver, CO, was shot when it strayed onto Cutler’s property. Ernat told authorities her chocolate Labrador “Wrigley,” was playing with a relative’s dog in the church lot adjacent to Cutler’s residence, when the dog ran onto his property and was wounded by a shotgun blast fired from a distance of 30-to 40-feet.

The dog was treated, but succumbed to injuries, at the Atlantic Animal Health Center.