VIA KSDK'S REPORT
Apollo, a three-year-old Spanish mastiff, was reportedly shot and killed Sunday night.
A Cottleville family is mourning the loss of their three-year-old dog this week after their asshole neighbor, a St. Charles County Sheriff's deputy, allegedly shot and killed it with a pellet gun.
News of the shooting, which claimed the life of the Spanish mastiff named Apollo on Sunday night, came via a series of viral Facebook posts. (We've chosen to redact the officer's name, as he's not yet been charged with a crime.)
"Around 7:30 tonight, officer [REDACTED] with st charles sheriffs office decided it would be fun to shoot my dog in my back yard, from his back porch with an air rifle from 3 houses over, because he wasnt on a leash. Apollo had a collar on and never barked once, we turned around to see him in the yard dead," one post reads. "Officer [REDACTED] also said he was 'proud' to shoot the dog, but the cops are at his residence now, and he wont answer the door, any local PD sees this please do better this is not acceptable to be shooting peoples dogs when your an off duty cop."
A second post shows a heated exchange between the owner of the dog, Eric Bacon, and the off-duty deputy.
"Do you own a pellet gun?" Bacon asks the deputy as his video rolls.
"Yes I do," he replies.
"Did you shoot my dog?" Bacon asks.
"Why?" the deputy replies.
"Because he's fucking dead, asshole!" Bacon shouts.
In the footage, Bacon explains that he had been doing yard work with his dog outside when the incident occurred. The man who shot the dog identifies himself at one point as a St. Charles County Sheriff's deputy and remains defiant throughout the video, at one point even noting that he was "proud" before immediately backtracking.
"Why isn't your fucking dog chained up, buddy?" the deputy asks, stepping up to Bacon with his chest puffed out.
"Because I don't fucking chain up a dog when I'm standing right there in my own goddamn yard," Bacon replies.
"OK, well keep your fucking dog in your fucking yard," the deputy says.
"Well, he's dead now asshole!" Bacon shouts.
In an interview with KSDK, Bacon's wife, Erica Hansen, says they'd noticed that something was wrong with Apollo when they finished up their yard work.
“The moment he turned around he started coughing and foaming at the mouth and collapsing,” Hansen tells KSDK. “We thought 'Oh my God, it’s a snake. He must have a snake bite.'”
But when they took the dog to the vet, x-rays showed that a pellet was lodged in Apollo's lung. Another viral post shared to social media showed a puncture wound in the dog's side as well. Apollo, sadly, didn't make it. The family has since been in touch with the St. Charles police, animal control and the Sheriff.
“I have extreme concerns about this man being in a position of public trust,” Bacon tells KSDK.
The St. Charles County Sheriff's Office reportedly had a deputy stationed outside the alleged shooter's home all day Monday. No charges have yet been filed in the case.
