DETROIT — Justin Fuller from Detroit tells us he took their 10-year-old goldendoodle Ace out to go to the bathroom around 9:30 Friday night like usual.
He says they were on the grass in front of their home when Ace noticed a few people next door.
Wayne State University police say they were performing a wellness check.
Fuller said their docile and friendly family dog trotted over to say hi.
"He didn’t show any sign of aggression," said Fuller. "He just walked up to the officer and the police officer looked at me, he looked back at the dog, and shot him."
Fuller said he hasn't been able to stop replaying the scene, he got Ace for his 10th birthday.
"He was already dripping blood from the side of his face walking in the house and then by the time he got in here, he stumbled up the steps, blood on the wall," said Fuller.
The bullet went through the top of Ace's lip and came out the bottom lip.
It went through his jaw and cracked two of his teeth.
Thankfully he survived but family says he isn't quite the same, panting a lot and visibly distressed.
Our team reached out to WSU police to ask why this happened.
Their chief told us the officer said Ace "started charging" and that feeling threatened he fired two shots at the dog.
They told us after the incident the officer knocked on Fuller and his mom Robin Gamble's door and offered to take the dog to the hospital/animal care and the family denied the help.
We asked Fuller and Gamble if this happened.
Both replied "That's a lie."
Fuller said, "We kept saying 'get help for the dog, get help for the dog’ and they never got help for the dog."
In August Gamble said her other son was killed from gun violence, she's terrified this happened outside their own front door and says she knows officers shooting dogs has become a trend.
In Detroit in 2022 there were 44 cases of officers shooting dogs.
The Detroit Police Department is currently facing a lawsuit for allegedly killing a woman's dog and dumping it in the trash without telling her.
"If someone is trigger happy you need to sit them down and re-train because that’s not always the answer," said Gamble. "They just don’t have compassion for pets and they should"
"There was a million other things he could have done in that situation," said Fuller.
Ace is an emotional support dog, Gamble said she sees him as one of her children and they're going to do right by him.
She's filed a complaint against the officer and wants to see changes made in how police treat our dogs.
"One draw awareness and two knowing what to do after that happens because you know there’s no dog ambulance," said Gamble. "There’s gotta be some kind of protocol when dogs are shot by police officers."
Gamble is paying for all of Ace's vet bills out of pocket.
If you would like to offer to help or simply reach out you can reach her here, through her photography page.
