"We adopted Daisy about four years ago," said Renee Lewis. "She became a part of our family immediately."
Renee Lewis and her family have been going through pictures and remembering the good times they had with their dog Daisy.
"It's painful to loose a pet anytime but, they way she died is so senseless," said Lewis.
On Saturday, Lewis says she was with her family at her daughter's softball game in Lexington. She got a phone call around 8:00 a.m. that her security alarm had gone off at her home on Eagle Pass Road in Shelbyville. The security alarm company asked if she wanted police to check it out.
"We had recent burglary in the neighborhood so, I said yeah send somebody out," said Lewis.
Lewis says a Shelby County Deputy responded to the home and that's when the deputy ran into Daisy.
"He walked in the backyard and then they had a face off and he shot her," said Lewis. "She was protecting our home."
"It's a tragic situation no one got up that morning wanting to hurt a dog," said Shelby County Sheriff Mike Armstrong.
Sheriff Armstrong says his deputy had no other option than to shoot Daisy. He says Daisy was acting aggressive and his deputy had to make a quick decision.
WAVE 3 asked why the deputy didn't use pepper spray or a taser.
"Yes, there are options that he had available on his belt but, it takes longer to retrieve those pieces of equipment," said Sheriff Armstrong.
"She has never lunged at anyone or bitten anyone," said Lewis.
"I wrote a letter to the Sheriff about my dog and my memories of her and her personality," said Jenna Lewis. "I don't feel that it's right and I don't think she should have died like that."
Lewis says there were no signs of a break in and doesn't know exactly why her alarm went off that morning. She's just hopes it doesn't happen again.
"We encounter dogs in the course of the year, very seldom does something like this happen," said Sheriff Armstrong. "I'm sorry it did happen and I wish it didn't."
Sheriff Armstrong says his department is investigating the incident. He adds that as tragic as this situation is, he hopes something good will come out of it.
Armstrong says it can be helpful if dog owners post a sign that a dog is on property and even let your security alarm company know that a dog is present if police are responding to a home.
[NOTE: This happens a lot, unfortunately. I have the utmost respect for law enforcement but they are not trained to deal with animals. They are there, gun ready, to face off with the bad guy. Their adrenaline is pumping and when a dog - no matter how big or small - comes at them, protecting its property or simply barking to announce, 'Hey family! Someone's here!' the police officer may shoot your pet.
And posting signs and letting Dispatch and the alarm company notify the authorities will not help. There have been stories where they told Dispatchers there's dogs in the home and they still got shot. I have surveillance video cameras and security lights but I do not use an alarm company for just this reason. I do not want the police rushing over and shooting my pets by mistake.]
(WAVE - June 20, 2011)
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