POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. — A family is outraged after their dog was shot and killed when Cobb County Police officers responded to their home near Powder Springs on Monday night.
Cobb County Police said two officers responded to a call for help in the area of Macland Road near Corner Road around 8:40 p.m. Monday night. The department said in a statement that information provided indicated that a voice was heard shouting "help me" on a 911-only cell phone.
When officers responded, they began searching the area and ended up at a home on Macland Road where they walked up to the front door and began talking to the homeowners, the department said.
Cobb County Police then said the family dogs began to leave the home and despite the homeowners' attempts at restraining them, one of the dogs ran toward the officers. The officer "perceived the dog's actions as potentially threatening" and ultimately ended up shooting and killing the dog "in an effort to protect himself," according to police.
The family, Tessa and Justin Carr, took to social media to explain their side of the story.
Tessa explained that she, her husband and their three children were all at home around 9 p.m. when they heard the doorbell ring. She said when her husband opened the door, he said he saw blue flashing lights and announced that there were police officers outside.
She explained that the glass screen door on the front door didn't latch and her two dogs, Zeta and Hank followed him outside. She said they were able to get Hank inside, but Zeta followed her husband out where the officers were.
They said Zeta walked down the steps to get closer and then barked and growled at the officers. Tessa explained this was not unusual behavior from her bird dog lab mix.
"Zeta will come towards you and bark but will NOT get close enough to someone she deems 'dangerous' nor allow them to touch her," she said in the Facebook post.
Tessa said she was heading back inside when she heard Justin scream, "Don't shoot her!" That's when Tessa said she heard one of the officers open fire on their dog, Zeta. She described that's when her husband said, "Why did you shoot her? She was just barking at you!"
In the post, Tessa also responded to Cobb County Police's statement about why they were there on the property regarding the 911 call. Tessa claimed that her family was not at home when the "screaming" happened and that her dogs were in their crates, so the police officers were at the wrong house. She also said her neighbors are her mother and her cousin, and they were not screaming, either, suggesting the officers were not in the correct location.
Tessa explained that her three kids were outside after Zeta had been shot and said that her kids, watched their dog die in front of their home.
"There were many tears shed last night over the loss of our girl. She meant the world to our family and people not in our family. My kids have so many questions, and I have so little answers. We're vulnerable, we're sick, we want our pup back," Tessa said in the Facebook post.
In its statement, Cobb Police said an internal review will be conducted regarding what happened.
"I wanna know what the Cobb County Police Department's training looks like for situations like these. Most of all, I wanna know who's gonna make this right for my family, my friends, and most of all Zeta."
