Controversy surrounding accused at field dog event years before shooting death

A court in St. Thomas heard that Boris Panovski’s name was dropped from a champion field dog by the victim years before his shooting death.

There was evidence that Panovski was a well-known and respected breeder in the field dog world.

However, that all changed after an event in Waynesboro, Ga. in January of 2005.

Nell Mobley, who was part of the Field Trial Association, testified that there was an incident, saying, “He (Panovski) was escorted to the county line by the sheriff’s office.”

She continued, “When he was escorted out, he was told not to return to the county.”

Shortly after that, Donato Frigo, who was one of Panovski’s customers, changed the name of a championship dog from “Panovski Silver” to “Belfield Silver” and he changed trainers.

Michael Heste,r who also works with bird dogs, testified that he got a call from Frigo to help train Belfield Silver, “He ended up being one of the greatest dog’s in the history of the sport.”

Nine years later, Frigo was shot to death while on horseback at a dog event at the Hullet Conservation Area, north of Clinton.

His wife Eva was injured, but survived the shooting.

In 2018, Panovski was found guilty of first-degree murder in Goderich, Ont. However, a retrial was ordered last spring and the proceedings were moved to St. Thomas.

Panovski, 79, has pleaded not guilty.

The retrial, which started two weeks ago, is slated to last six weeks.