A 24-year-old West Earl Township farmer was found guilty Monday of killing his neighbor's dog and was sentenced to 2 years' probation plus community service at Humane League of Lancaster County.

Levi Glick, of 202 Stone Quarry Road, defended himself against one count of cruelty to animals during the one-day trial held before Lancaster County Judge Paul K. Allison.

Glick told the judge and jury that Bear, a 1-year-old border collie mix that belonged to the neighboring Kovack family, had chased his cows around his pasture and out from beneath a shade tree on numerous occasions in the summer of 2004.

Finally, on April 2, Glick said, he shot at the dog, intending to "pepper it" with buckshot and scare it away from his farm for good.

"I'm not here to dispute that I shot the dog," Glick said. "I can't make a living if I don't have any income. My cows are my livelihood. If one of them dies, it's a $2,000 loss for me."

Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson told the jury Glick's actions violated the law.

"The commonwealth does not believe Mr. Glick is an evil person, or even a bad person," Wilson said. "We understand that he is a farmer who needs to protect his livestock. But what he did that day was against the law. There were no cows for Bear to chase that day. No cows."

Keith Mohler, an officer with Farm Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, testified that under state law, the killing of a dog is allowed only if it is in the act of killing domestic fowl or livestock.

"Mr. Glick was clear his cows were not out that day," Mohler testified. "Bear was not chasing anything."

A veterinarian testifying for the prosecution told the jury a shotgun pellet found in the dog's thoracic cavity was determined to be the cause of death.

Glick asked West Earl Township police Officer Dale Ebersole how many pellets are in one round of buckshot. Ebersole guessed it would be more than 40.

Glick presented several witnesses who testified they had seen the Kovacks' dog chasing his cows on previous occasions.

Samuel King said he lives near Glick on Stone Quarry Road and has been his neighbor "all my life."

"I think he's a brave young man to invest in farming, as it is hard work and low income," King said.

In her closing argument, Wilson said Glick knew there was a possibility he could kill the dog when he shot at it with his 12-gauge shotgun.

"When you point a deadly weapon at a live animal and shoot at it, that is willful and malicious conduct," Wilson said. "There had to have been a better way to solve this problem."

In his closing statement, Glick once again told the jury he didn't kill the dog "willfully or maliciously."

"I could have put it down right there on the spot if I'd wanted to," Glick said. "It was one pellet that killed him out of 50 or 60."

In addition to probation, Glick was ordered to pay restitution of $150 and perform 50 hours of community service at Humane League of Lancaster County or another animal-welfare agency.

"While the defendant may have felt justified in shooting the Kovacks' dog, the jury confirmed that you can't take the law into your own hands," Wilson said after the trial. "The commonwealth hopes that the sentence of 50 hours of community service at the Humane League will help give him empathy for the humane treatment of animals."

Justin Quinn's e-mail address is jquinn@lnpnews.com