A Missouri family is left heartbroken after a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed their emotional support dog, a two-year-old chocolate Labrador named Nala.
Dianna Dollins said the officer had arrived at her and her husband’s Farmington property on Sunday to ask if they had any doorbell camera footage of a robbery that occurred across the street earlier that day.
But when the officer arrived unannounced on her porch, he encountered Nala — whom the family had recently purchased as an emotional support dog for Dianna’s husband, Scottie, who was recovering from brain tumor surgery — and fired his gun.
“It’s just devastating, there are no other words to describe it,” Dollins said. he told KSDK.
The family now maintains that the agent should not have been on their property in the first place, pointing out that he did not have a warrant and was not invited onto their land.
Nala, a two-year-old chocolate Labrador who was Scottie Dollins’ emotional support dog, was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy on Sunday.
They said they didn’t even know the officer was on their property until Scottie heard the shooting. Diana shared in a Facebook post from July 21 written by her husband.
“My husband heard the gunshots and came running, and there she was,” the couple said, describing how they found the dog lying on the gravel driveway with a gunshot wound to the head.
“He had already shot her. He immediately started saying that she had bitten me. He was already back in his car, at the door of his car.”
The St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office now claims the Labrador bit the deputy’s wrist and elbow, prompting the officer to fire his gun.
Sheriff Daniel Bullock said the deputy is receiving rabies shots, saying the family did not have updated vaccination records for their dog.
The dog had been by Scott’s side as he recovered from surgery to remove a brain tumor.
They found the dog lying on the gravel road with a gunshot wound to the head.
The St. Francois County Ambulance District administrator also said an ambulance was dispatched to the Dollins residence, but was later told there were no patients at the scene.
However, the family says Nala “wouldn’t hurt a fly,” and even if she had, “it wouldn’t justify shooting (her) dog.”
“She never bit anybody,” Dianna said, while her father, Ronald Widner, noted that “Nala welcomed everybody.
“But the way they do it is they jump on you and move their tongue,” he said.
‘They greet people like that. I’m sure that’s what happened, and if it has a mark, it has a scratch mark.’
The dog was adopted to provide emotional support for Scottie, who was recovering from brain tumor surgery, and was considered part of the family.
“Nala was with him through the whole process,” Dianna said. “She slept with us every night.”
The family is trying to seek justice for their beloved dog.
Nala recently had 10 puppies and was wearing a shock collar that prevented her from leaving the property at the time of the shooting.
The family is now seeking justice for their beloved animal, who had recently given birth to 10 puppies and was wearing a shock collar that prevented her from leaving the property at the time of the shooting.
“After it happened, I didn’t feel any remorse,” Dianna said. “I kept thinking, ‘I did what I had to do,’ with a negative attitude.”
“I don’t know if he’s a good man or a bad man, but he’s a scared man with a gun,” he added. “And I don’t think we need scared men with guns to protect our country.”
She went on to say that the officer should have had his lights on or honked his horn to let the family know he was there before showing up on their property.
“That man doesn’t need to have a gun,” Dianna said. “This doesn’t need to happen to anyone else.”
The sheriff’s office is now investigating the shooting, and Sheriff Bullock said his office is waiting for reports from the Farmington Police Department, which sent officers to respond.