Hector Riquelme was in his backyard Friday morning when he heard a commotion.
It was the sound of Richmond RCMP officers -- who had mistaken his house as the home of a break-in suspect -- and his dog Koda, who had noticed the police before Riquelme did.
When he went to see what happened, he was stunned by what he found.
“My dog was just on this side right here with his face blown off and bleeding out from the mouth,” Riquelme told CTV News in an exclusive interview.
In a statement, Richmond RCMP said two officers saw a black duffle bag outside Riquelme’s house on Garden City Road that matched the description of one carried by the break-in suspect.
The officers attempted to retrieve the bag, when they were “confronted by two pitbull-like dogs and hastily exited the area, narrowly escaping,” police said.
“In the process, one of the officers discharged his firearm once at the dog that was closing in on him,” police said. “Our officers are shaken but uninjured.”
Koda, meanwhile, was bleeding.
“The blood was everywhere,” Riquelme said. “All over the grass, all over the stairs all over the inside of the house. At that point it was just stop the bleeding and get her to the vet as soon as possible.”
The family brought Koda to multiple veterinary clinics, where the pet was stabilized and later had surgery. So far, vet bills have totaled more than $3,500.
Richmond RCMP told CTV News Koda’s owners were told how they could get compensation for their dog’s injury, but Riquelme says one of the officers called both vet clinics and told them the police “will not be covering any amount of money.”
Along with his concern about the bills and his dog’s well-being, Riquelme is also worried about what might have happened.
He said his daughter was only 20 feet away when the officer shot the dog.
“What if he missed? What if it ricocheted? What if it hit my daughter and my daughter died?” Riquelme asked.
The break-in suspect has not been caught, but the nature of the crime the officers were investigating makes what happened even more concerning for Riquelme.
“Just a property crime - does that really warrant them to take their guns out and start shooting in front of kids? That's what concerns me.”
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Alex Turner
