'Survivor' Winner Shoots Puppy With Arrow, Beats Wife

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'Survivor' Winner Jailed For Shooting Dog With An Arrow

A winner of the "Survivor" TV show posted bond in Douglas County Wednesday on charges related to shooting a puppy with a bow and arrow and battery against his wife.

Brian Heidik, 38, who won $1 million on the 2002 "Survivor: Thailand" show, was jailed early Tuesday after his frightened wife called police, saying he shot a puppy that wandered onto his property in Douglasville, said Douglas County Chief Deputy Stan Copeland. The tan-and-black shepherd-hound mix named Edgar was not killed.

"You can equate it to seeing a kid going across your property, and going and beating the heck out of him," Copeland said. He said Heidik should have called the county's animal control office.

The 12- to 16-week-old dog was shot below the rib cage, said Chuck Brawn of the Douglas animal control office. The injuries were not life-threatening and the owner was expected to pick up the dog Thursday morning, officials said.

Heidik's wife, Charmaine Heidik, 34, complained to police that he had struck her two weeks ago. In an interview Wednesday, she said her husband had grabbed her by the face and pushed her down, bruising her forehead and elbow.

The cruelty and battery charges are misdemeanors. Heidik was released after posting $6,000 in bond.

The night of the shooting, Charmaine Heidik said her husban had been out with friends.

She said she awoke at 3:30 a.m. to the sound of a dog yelping and went to the back porch where she saw her husband shoot the dog with a bow. She said her husband was about a foot away from the dog.

According to Charmaine Heidik, her husband then said, "I am tired of stupid dogs on my back porch."

She said she scooped up a second wandering puppy, Iris, got the couple's 5-year-old son and retreated into a bathroom, locked the door, then called police.

Heidik left the home, and a short time later, sheriff's deputies stopped him in his white 1994 Cadillac deVille.

Heidik, a former North Carolina State football player, used-car salesman and part-time actor, could not be reached for comment.

Bruno Heidick, the father of Brian Heidik, said by telephone that his son told him he thought the dog was a fox or coyote.

He told his father that the family had two ducks in the back yard that had been attacked and eaten a few weeks ago.

"When he came home he thought he had cornered a fox or a coyote," said Bruno Heidick of Burtonsville, Md.

Charmaine Heidik said the couple and their son moved to Douglas County in November 2004. They are separated but still living in the same home, she said.

Brian Heidik's TV acting credits include appearances on "Baywatch Nights," "Doogie Howser, M.D." and the popular soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

His film credits as David Roth, according to IMDB.com, the internet movie database, include the adult films "Virgins of Sherwood Forest" and "Chick Street Fighter," which also featured Charmaine Heidik.

The couple have a history of discord.

In December 2002, while her husband was a finalist on the reality show, Charmaine Heidik agreed to undergo counseling in return for the dismissal of a charge that she punched her husband in the nose.

Charmaine Heidik said her husband has been "spiraling out of control" since winning "Survivor: Thailand."

"I think maybe it's the show," she said.

"I don't think he's ever adapted to real life since then," she said. "He thinks he can do anything. He thinks he invincible."