Police: Dog Shot Dead In Roxborough Family's Yard
By Jericka Duncan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A Roxborough family is mourning the loss of their family dog after someone shot their Lab-mix in the stomach with a shotgun.
"He was still walking around and bleeding from the side and the blood was squirting out," described the dog's owner, Marc Gambone.
It happened on Saturday night around 5:30 p.m. Marc wasn't there at the time, but his wife, his, 18-month-old daughter, a family friend and two other children were inside the Leverington Avenue home. He says he met his wife at University of Pennsylvania Veterinarian Hospital.
"He barked at me, which was good, I was encouraged," said Gambone.
But the doctor's X-ray's revealed serious problems for the 55-pound dog. The Gambones' adopted him from a shelter five years ago.
"He (the doctor) said, 'if it's in the belly, we're in trouble,'" explained Gambone. "That's where they found the shotgun bullet."
Doctor's recommended they put "Mr. Dogg" down because he was in pain and there was no guarantee the dog would feel better.
Marc says the hardest part is trying to explain to his little girl that the dog she's known since birth, is no longer around.
"The next morning she wakes up and says 'doggie, doggie,' my wife just told her, 'he went bye bye,'" said Gambone.
The neighborhood where the Gambones' live is filled with dogs. Marc thinks it's possible someone may have targeted his pet because it often barked.
"If the dog was annoying you, you could have come to us," decried Gambone. "Dogs don't know any better, they bark, that's what they do."
