Owner Wants Answers After Officer Fatally Shoots His Dog
ANNE ARUNDEL (WJZ) -- A picture of Missy the mastiff as a puppy has become too much to bear for her owner, Charles Cox.
"I wasn't here to protect it, it's hurting me to my heart, it's killing me. It's tearing me up," Cox said.
Missy, who was 3, was shot and killed by an Anne Arundel County police officer five days after Christmas.
Cox says she was shot twice in the head by the officer, who was in the area responding to a report of a credit card theft.
Officer Fatally Shoots 'Aggressive' Dog That Was Advancing Towards Him
"It might look like a huge dog, but that was a puppy. It hurts!," he said.
Anne Arudel County police say the officer, who has not been identified, was called to Graybird Court by a man who claimed to be living at Cox's home.
Authorities say that man then opened the backdoor and that's when Missy got out.
"The officer began retreating backwards and was backed up towards a fence. the dog approached him within three feet in an aggressive manner barring its teeth, growling, at which point, the officer thought his life was in danger," said police spokesman Marc Limansky.
Cox doesn't believe that's how the situation played out.
He believes the officer could have gotten away, as a large portion of the fence is down.
He says at the time of the shooting, his son, his son's girlfriend, and her brother -- the family friend who called police -- were home downstairs.
Cox also claims his wife, who was home asleep at the time, never heard a knock at their front door.
Missy was an indoor dog with a sweet demeanor, according to Cox.
How she got out is still a mystery to the family, and it's also something they want an answer for.
"How can you do that? That's what makes me cry when I think about that. How? I let my dog down, that's my dog, that was my girl!," Cox said.
Cox says he's already filed a complaint against the officer.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.
Missy was taken by animal control so that a necropsy can be performed.
At this time, it's unknown if the officer is still on duty.
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