Deputy shoots, kills dog in driveway while investigating robbery, Missouri family says
A family is heartbroken after their chocolate lab named Nala was shot and killed by a Missouri sheriff’s deputy after he went on their property during a robbery investigation, the family said.
“She just had ten puppies, was enclosed on property and was shot,” Dianna Dollins, the dog’s owner, shared in a July 21 Facebook post written by her husband.
The St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office told McClatchy News over the phone that the dog bit the deputy’s wrist and elbow, which led him to shoot the dog, but did not say if the officer suffered injuries.
The family denies that the dog bit the deputy, but added that even if Nala did, it didn’t “warrant shooting (their) dog dead.”
“She’d never been aggressive a day in her life,” Dollins told KSDK. “She’d never bit anyone. After it happened, there was no remorse. It was still ‘I did what I had to do to’ with a bad type of attitude.”
Sheriff Daniel Bullock told McClatchy News the deputy bitten by the dog is now receiving rabies shots. He said the family did not have an up-to-date shot record for the dog.
According to Bullock, the deputy had gone to the family’s home to see if they had doorbell camera footage of a robbery that occurred across the street.
The Dollins’ said the officer “should not have been on (their) property in the first place.”
Scottie Dollins, Dianna Dollins’ husband, was the one who heard the gunshot.
“(He) did not know the deputy was on my property (until he) heard a gunshot,” the couple said in their post.
The dog was found shot on their gravel driveway, KSDK reported.
Nala was adopted to be emotional support for Scottie who had been recovering from brain tumor surgery, the family told KSDK.
“My best (furry) Friend Nala!” Scottie Dollins wrote on Facebook. “’I’m sure gonna miss you! Taken to soon but will never be forgotten!”
The sheriff’s office said they are investigating the incident.
St. Francois County is about a 75-mile drive southwest of St. Louis.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Deputy shoots, kills dog in driveway while investigating robbery, Missouri family says."
