The furor surrounding a Sperryville man who shot and killed two of his neighbors' dogs in February was settled Tuesday in Rappahannock County General District Court.

Henry Raymond Ludwig Jr. was ordered to pay a $500 fine, serve 40 hours of community service and pay $1,225 in restitution for two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.

He was also sentenced to 120 days in jail, but he will not have to serve any of that time as long as he avoids any trouble with the law during the next 12 months.

Ludwig was charged with two counts of "unnecessarily killing a dog" for fatally shooting two dogs that were caught in steel leg-hold traps on his property in February. He said the dogs were not wearing collars, so he thought they were strays.

On Feb. 19, Ludwig pleaded guilty to both charges.

It is legal in Rappahannock to set animal traps on one's own property. However, it is not legal to shoot a dog unless it is threatening a person, a pet or livestock. Ludwig should have called the county's animal warden to report that the dogs were on his property.

A condition of Ludwig's probation is that he must hand over his animal traps to the commonwealth and refrain from setting new traps on his property.

Ludwig took the stand Tuesday and explained that the animals were suffering and were not approachable when they were in the traps.

"I made the decision to end the suffering as quick as I could," Ludwig told the court. "I still feel I was working in the animals' best interest."

But he would take it back if he could, he said. "I've relived those three minutes over and over and over again."

Ludwig has lived on Oventop Lane for five years. He said he had seen a coyote on the property before, and that is what he was trying to catch with the traps.

He removed the trap that caught the first dog, but left the other traps on his property.

"I really didn't think it would happen again," Ludwig said. "Those traps have been up there three winters, and I'd never had a problem with dogs [getting trapped] before."

After the second dog was caught, he pulled all the traps on the property.

Commonwealth's Attorney Peter Luke said the case has generated a lot of interest in the community, but some of the attention has focused on the use of animal traps.

Luke said that, while he personally does not care for traps, Ludwig cannot be punished for having them on his property.

"On the day in question, Mr. Ludwig was conducting a legal activity," Luke said. "If [people] have a problem with that, they'll have to go to Richmond. We have to work within the law that's written."

Ludwig was on his own property and did not torture the dogs, Luke added. But, even if the dogs were suffering, the decision to kill them should have been made by a veterinarian, not Ludwig.

"As he's admitted, he made the wrong decision, but this is not a Michael Vick case," Luke said.

Luke also said that coyotes do live in Rappahannock and their population is likely to increase. The county does not have a leash law, he said, but pet owners should be responsible and keep their pets on their own properties.

"If they choose to let their dogs roam, their dogs can get into trouble," Luke said.

Luke suggested that Judge Charles B. Foley sentence Ludwig to pay a fine and restitution, perform community service, apologize to the dogs' owners and forfeit his animal traps to the commonwealth.

Ludwig's attorney, Ed Gentry, told the judge that Luke's suggestions were fair.

"Mr. Ludwig knows he made several errors in judgment," Gentry said.

The attorney emphasized that Ludwig had no prior criminal record, served honorably in the Marine Corps for many years and did not attempt to hide anything from law-enforcement officials investigating the dog shootings.

"He is, in fact, the kind of citizen that most counties would love to have," Gentry said. "But he made a mistake."

Gentry called the incident "tragic."

"In the moment, he did what he thought was right," Gentry said. "But if he could do it over again, he would make a different decision."

Foley's decision matched Luke's recommendation.

The judge said Ludwig "does not fit the profile of the type of person who commits this type of act." He also gave Ludwig credit for taking responsibility for the offenses.

"We don't have a concentrated effort here to kill someone else's animals," Foley said.

Ludwig could have been punished much more severely. The maximum sentence possible for his offenses was up to two years in jail and $5,000 in fines.

The judge also acknowledged the crowd of roughly 20 observers who came to court to witness the sentencing. Foley said he is a dog lover as well, and commended the attendees for showing they care about the welfare of animals.

"We see too much [animal cruelty]," Foley said. "We see a lot of tragic circumstances with animals."

E-mail the reporter at kallen@timespapers.com.