EMBDEN, Maine (AP) — The Somerset County Sheriff's Department has charged both the owner of a pet cow and the man who shot it when it wandered onto his property in Embden.

Sheriff Dale Lancaster said 24-year-old Mason Sparrow received a summons for cruelty to animals while 49-year-old Jaime Danforth received a summons for animal trespass, a civil violation.

The shooting of "Sophie" the cow on Sept. 5 sparked outrage.

Lancaster said people under similar circumstances should contact an animal control officer because state law doesn't permit people to shoot domestic animals on their property. He also said there's also a civil recourse to deal with damages.

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