Charges have been filed against a Palmerton man who allegedly shot and killed his dog.

Gary Recker, 50, faces charges of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, recklessly endangering another person, kill/maim domestic animal, and possessing instruments of crime.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by officer Shawn Leadbetter of the Palmerton Police Department:

At 11:46 p.m. Oct. 5, Leadbetter was dispatched to a drunken man wielding a firearm in the 500 block of Mauch Chunk Road. Leadbetter and officer Dane O’Brien were summoned by bystanders who saw Recker outside, wearing no shirt and bluejeans.

Police saw Recker walking in the middle of the street in circles and up onto the sidewalk in front of his home and took him into custody.

Recker agreed to speak with police and said that he was inside his home when he shot one round through his dog while lying in the living room.

Recker then tried to bury his dog’s body in the backyard of his home.

Two witnesses each heard one gunshot come from the home.

One witness was inside the home at the time of the shooting and said she could hear the dog yelp and cry after the one shot.

The other witness saw Recker drag the dog’s body out the side door and into the woods.

A search of Recker’s home yielded a .45-caliber Springfield handgun, used .45-caliber bullet casing and .45-caliber discharged bullet.

Recker is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Carbon County Courthouse Central Court. He is currently lodged in the Carbon County Correctional Facility in lieu of $50,000 straight bail.