TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa dog owner is distraught after she said her neighbor shot her dog with a shotgun. Ashley Jefferson told FOX23 her dog, Bando, has to have his leg amputated.
The incident happened in a neighborhood near I-244 and Harvard over the weekend. On Saturday, Jefferson said her dog got out of her house and crossed into her neighbor’s yard. Witnesses said the neighbor shot the dog while he stood at the edge of the yard, but the dog didn’t do anything to initiate the shooting.
“He’s not aggressive to nobody, nobody at all,” Jefferson said. “Strangers, he’ll walk up to and play with them. I don’t even think he knows how to me mean.”
After the shooting, Jefferson said she called Tulsa Police and filed a report. Police took the report and handed the investigation over to Tulsa Animal Welfare (TAW).
“Tulsa Animal Welfare has a copy of TPD’s report. They have assigned an investigator to this case. No charges have been recommended at this time, as the investigation is ongoing,” TAW said in a statement Tuesday.
“According to the vet he’s doing okay,” Jefferson said. “He had to amputate his leg because the bones were dust, as they said.”
Oklahoma law indicates that it is lawful to shoot a dog if the dog is considered dangerous or is chasing livestock. However, whether or not it’s justifiable to shoot a dog for being on your property is a legal grey area in the state.
FOX23 previously reported that an Owasso man was charged with animal cruelty for shooting a dog. The dog was also on his property at the time of the shooting. The man is now a convicted felon and cannot legally own a gun.
Jefferson said she wants to see justice for Bando and wants to press charges.
“I would like for him to go to jail,” she said. “Anything could have happened outside my dog getting shot. It’s not safe if you just walk around with a gun shooting stuff. So I’d be extremely happy if I could get some charges pressed because it wasn’t right or justified.”
Jefferson continued, “I don’t understand why he shot my dog. It’s hurtful because he didn’t deserve it. He’s not that type of dog. If he was aggressive or mean, or we had problems like that, I would understand. But he’s not that type of dog.”
A GoFundMe was created to help Bando’s family with medical expenses.
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