SEATTLE -- The father and son accused of shooting the family Rottweiler and leaving it for dead have pleaded not guilty.

Terrance Hedin, 53, and Travis Hedin, 25, have each been charged with first-degree animal cruelty. The two maintained their innocence in court on Tuesday but others, who were sporting pins of support for Maynard the Rottweiler, called for justice.

On May 31, 4-year-old Maynard, was found alive but fully paralyzed and suffering from multiple gun shot wounds. The father later confessed to the shooting, investigators said. Maynard was treated for four days, but had to be euthanized.

In a taped statement, Terrance Hedin, 53, said he and his 25-year-old son took Maynard out to kill him because he had severely bitten his son's wife twice in two months, sending her to the hospital for days. The father said they did not have enough money to have Maynard euthanized by a vet.

Animal rights activists don't buy that story. In court on Tuesday, they made their disapproval known.

"This is not the correct manner to go ahead and take care of a problem like this," said Brendan Brannen of Pasado's Safe Haven. "There were so many options for them to take, if they had even gone to any vet, any vet would have helped them out to some degree. There are always options."

But the Hedins' attorney said the Hedins were between a rock and a hard place, and forced to make a very difficult decision.

"They're devastated. I mean, the father can barely talk about it without crying," said John Henry Browne. "You know, they did what they thought was responsible. They were actually told by animal control that you can put down your own dog, because animal control wouldn't do it."

Hedins claim they called a number of Rottweiler shelters, vets and animal control before trying to put the dog down.

According to the statement of probable cause, Terrance Hedin said he tied Maynard to a tree at the top of a steep embankment and put a piece of beef jerky in front of him to distract him. He said he then told his son to start shooting, and not to stop until Maynard was dead. The two began shooting, the man told investigators.

The impact of the gun shots knocked Maynard over the edge of the embankment, the document said, and Maynard, tethered by a rope, tumbled some 15 feet down.

Terrance Hedin said he did not see the dog moving, and presumed he was dead.

Maynard was later found about 1.8 miles down a service road off Exit 38 from Interstate 90, in extreme pain and left for dead.

X-rays showed he had been shot three times. Animal control officers took the animal to a vet where the dog underwent surgery and needed continuous care as well as Morphine before being euthanized on June 4.

The Hedins' trial is set for the end of July.

King County Animal Care and Control Interim Manager Nancy McKenney said people having trouble caring for pets can always surrender animals to King County Animal Care and Control.

"If your pet is licensed, we will even arrange to pick the pet up for you," she said.
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