Florida cop shoots dead dog Duchess in front of her owner in video

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WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES
A Florida cop shot Duchess, a 40-pound bull terrier mix, on Tuesday
The pet ran out of it's owner's front door after the officer knocked to say a car door had been left open
Duchess's owner Gillian Palacios said the dog was not aggressive in any way and wasn't even barking
The cop has been placed on administrative leave during an investigation
Florida City police spokesman Ken Armenteros defended the officer’s actions, saying: 'We don’t have the luxury of hindsight'

Published: 12:12 EST, 21 October 2015 | Updated: 02:35 EST, 22 October 2015

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A mother and daughter are inconsolable after their dog Duchess was shot in the head three times by a police officer - and all because she ran out the front door when he was conducting a routine house check.

Duchess, a 40-pound bull terrier mix, was killed even though she wasn't barking or being aggressive in any way, according to her owner, Gillian Palacios.

Palacios told Fox that on Tuesday morning, the police officer knocked on her door to say her car door had been left open.

She said that when she opened the front door of her house, her dog Duchess ran outside. Surveillance footage shows the officer fatally shooting the dog three times in the head.

The family, who were distraught after their loss, say that they were not in any trouble with the police and cannot understand why their pet was killed for simply running into the yard.

WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES

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'Before I could even do anything, the officer had his gun out and shot her three times in the head,' Palacios said.

Killed: Duchess was shot to death (right) on Tuesday during a routine house check

The officer, who has not been identified, has been put on administrative leave while an investigation is underway.

Palacios said the officer told her that her dog was 'charging after him' and that Animal Services would come by to pick up the animal.

'She was curious. She wasn’t barking (and) she wasn’t growling,' Palacios said in the video interview.

'There was no reason for him to think she was aggressive in any way.'

According to Palacio's Facebook, she works as a pet sitter and bookkeeper.

Photos show her and her daughter sobbing uncontrollably over their pet's body, just outside their front door.

Florida City police spokesman Officer Ken Armenteros defended the officer’s actions.

'We don’t have the luxury of hindsight,' he told WPLG.

'We have to use the information that is given to us in a split second.

So, the officer has to make that decision with the information that he has available.'

The family said that Duchess was a rescue dog they had recently adopted from a nearby shelter.

A staff member at the animal shelter described Duchess as an extremely loving and docile dog - and said that when people see pit bulls or dogs that look like them they 'expect the worst' but they are actually wonderful dogs.

Heartbroken: Gillian Palacios' daughter, paralyzed by sadness, embraces her dead dog outside of her home

Surveillance footage shows this police officer pulling out his gun as the dog starts to exit from the front door

The police officer, who has not been identified, can be seen shooting the dog three times in the head

Horror: Gillian Palacios comes outside to see her dog lying dead on the path outside her home

Gillian and her daughter (right) sobbed uncontrollably over their beloved pet's body after the incident. Blood stained the area in front of their home where the dog was fatally shot not one but three times

Horrified: Gillian (left), pictured with her daughter, works as a pet sitter according to her Facebook account. Both mother and daughter were traumatized by the shooting