DORCHESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Dorchester woman has been left devastated after her 4-year-old rescue dog was shot outside her home over the weekend.
Julia Roehrich said a creaking door was a signal to her dog that someone is arriving and 4-year-old Comet would run to greet them.
“He’s 85 pounds so he’s very large and intimidating but he arrives with a wagging tail,” she said.
But Sunday morning, the person opening Roehrich’s gate was not expecting the pitbull-lab mix to come running over.
“Then I heard, ‘[explative]’ and then one shot,” she said. “Comet just started screaming and crying.”
Roehrich said a bullet entered Comet’s shoulder and came out his groin. She rushed him to an animal hospital but his injuries were so severe they filled three pages of medical records.
Tuesday morning Comet passed away.
“This was not supposed to happen, this was not supposed to be the case,” the heartbroken owner said. “It wasn’t his time.”
Police say 18-year-old Antonion Moore fired the shot that hit the dog. Street surveillance cameras allegedly caught him opening fire on nearby Brunswick Street and taking off through people’s yards.
“It’s not like he came to this yard in order to kill Comet,” said Roehrich. “I truly believe he was just trying to get through and hide.”
Now the dog owner is left mourning her beloved pet but not looking for vengeance from the man charged with killing him.
“I would have loved an apology, I would have loved just, ‘I didn’t mean that,” she said. “But, I know realistically it’s just bad choices, bad timing.”
Moore is facing several firearms-related charges including one for maliciously killing a pet.
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