Woman convicted of stealing hunter’s dog during a bear hunt, Tennessee officials say

A Tennessee woman was convicted Friday of stealing a hunting dog during a bear hunt.

Knoxville resident Sandra Lucille Inman was accused of stealing the hunter’s dog during the legal hunt in Blount County in November 2018, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. She caught the dog and removed its transmitting collar, officials said.

Investigators say Inman threw it and another collar — which had the owner’s name and contact information — in a McDonald’s dumpster and took the dog to an animal shelter, WBIR reported. Inman was accused of telling staff the dog was a stray she had just found, the news outlet reported.

The dog was quickly reunited with its owner, officials said.

Inman told investigators she believed the dog was abused and wearing a shock collar, The Daily Times reported. Inman said she called the owner’s number before taking it to the shelter, the newspaper reported.

However, a jury found her guilty of felony theft of property and misdemeanor removal of a transmitting collar, WVLT reported.

“If you see a dog with a collar on it, leave it alone and contact authorities,” the dog’s owner, Gordon Denu, told the news outlet.