Video taken from a police car's dashcam shows the moment an officer ran into a Texas man's yard and shot his blue heeler dead, after responding to a 911 call at the wrong address.
The officer, who was investigating a domestic disturbance between a man and woman, is seen running onto a property yelling, "Show me your hands! Show me your hands! Hey, get your dog!"
The sound of barking is followed by a loud gunshot.
Austin lab technician Michael Paxton, 40, told msnbc he was playing in his yard with his seven-year-old blue heeler, Cisco, on Saturday when the officer suddenly appeared in his driveway and held him at gunpoint.
Mr Paxton said he told the policeman not to shoot his dog as Cisco ran towards him barking.
Mr Paxton's dog Cisco
After Cisco was gunned down, the shocked owner can be heard in the video shouting, "Why did you shoot my dog? What are you doing here?"
The police officer is then heard telling Mr Paxton he believed the dog was about to attack him.
"No he was just barking, he wouldn't have bit you," he said.
"What are you doing turning your gun on me? I wasn't armed."
The incident has sparked outrage in the community and police have since been receiving hate mail.
Mr Paxton has launched a Facebook campaign called Justice for Cisco, in a bid to change the way police respond to animals.
The page has already received nearly 50,000 likes.
The grieving dog owner told msnbc he was traumatised by the incident.
"It's a very painful loss for me."
The couple involved in the domestic disturbance were later traced to a property several doors down.
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