SACRAMENTO, Calif — A Sacramento county neighborhood was left with questions after a deputy shot and killed a dog Wednesday night.
It happened as deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call. It's left a Foothill Farms neighborhood in shock.
Matt Rudolph lives across the street and saw the incident.
“Heard what we thought was fireworks. A loud bang came outside, heard some commotion, heard what was going on across the street. He was very upset, and I would be too if my dog got shot,” said Rudolph.
Investigators say they received a call about a family disturbance at a home on Jeanine Drive Wednesday night.
According to the sheriff's office, when the caller opened the door to the home, a large dog “aggressively charged” at the deputy.
Officials said the deputy feared for his safety and shot the dog once.
“He was very protective, and I’m sure that... when they came to the door, the dog was protecting, and they were protecting themselves. Very unfortunate,” said Rudolph.
Rudolph says the dog came to live with its owners as a puppy.
ABC10 spoke with the owner off camera after she washed the blood off her sidewalk Thursday morning. She said she was too emotional to share her story.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s office published policy for officer-involved shootings, a supervisor is required to respond and an internal affairs investigation must be opened.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has been following law enforcement responses with animals and says “policies that require only that an officer 'feel' threatened set a very low threshold for justifying the killing of dogs.”
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