RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A Raleigh dog owner is angry and his lab is recovering after a police officer shot the animal twice.
Police said the officer had to pull the trigger. However, the dog's owner, Stan Kreps, said it wasn't necessary.
Kreps said all his dog, Dusty, was doing was barking not biting.
"I heard, as I was putting a pot of coffee on, I heard Dusty do his barking thing," said Kreps. "I ran to the door to tell him to shut up, and I heard two pops."
Those two pops Kreps heard were shots. Two bullets were fired at his barking dog. Kreps said it happened on his own lawn.
The person firing the gun was a Raleigh police officer going to restaurant nearby on his break.
"I just think it was a snap decision and a poor decision," said Kreps.
Two bullets hit Dusty -- one in the leg and the other grazed the lab's chest.
The Raleigh Police Department said they did nothing wrong.
In a statement to ABC 11, police said, "According to witnesses, a large dog jumped off a porch and ran towards the officer, barking and growling in an aggressive manner. The witnesses reported that when the dog got close to the officer and did not stop, the officer fired two shot from his service weapon... in keeping with departmental practices, the use of force is being reviewed."
Kreps disagrees and said something needs to change because the bullets could have done a lot more damage.
"I think they should be trained in a different light when it comes to dogs," said Kreps. "To lose him, I wouldn't survive. He is my everything."
Kreps said he's waiting for police to conduct their own investigation until he decides what to do.