FARMINGTON, Mo. — An emotional support dog who was helping a Farmington man recover from a brain tumor surgery was shot and killed by a St. Francois County deputy on Sunday, the county's sheriff's office confirmed with 5 On Your Side.
Scott Dollins recently bought the dog, named Nala, to act as an emotional support animal while he recovered from the surgery. He just got approval for the dog to travel with him on his job.
"This was murder," Casey Tacker, Scott's mother-in-law, told 5 On Your Side. "[Nala] was his companion and best friend and slept with him every night since his surgery... This is absolutely devastating to our family."
The sheriff's office said it is investigating the incident. County Sheriff Daniel Bullock said the deputy was on the couple's property looking for ring camera footage after a burglary happened on their street earlier that day. 5 On Your Side is not sharing the name of the deputy since he hasn't been charged with a crime.
"That's why the police officer was here in the first place. He wanted to see if he could use our camera footage. We didn't have any," Nala's owner, Dianna Dollins, said.
Dianna said her husband, Scott, was in the backyard Sunday afternoon when the deputy came onto their property and their home's porch uninvited and without a warrant, where he encountered Nala before he shot her.
"My husband heard the shots and came running around, and there she lay. He had already shot her. He immediately started saying she bit me. He was already back at his car in his car door," said Dianna.
Dianna said Nala has never been violent and was even wearing an invisible fence collar at the time of the shooting, which would have prevented her from leaving the property.
"She'd never been aggressive a day in her life. She'd never bit anyone. After it happened, there was no remorse. It was still 'I did what I had to do to' with a bad type of attitude. I don't know if he's a good man or if he's a bad man, but he's a scared man with a gun. And I don't think that we need scared men with guns protecting our county," she said.
Nala had recently given birth to 10 puppies, and the Dollins kept the last girl.
Dianna says Nala was more than just a dog — she was part of the family.
"My husband had a brain tumor. He had surgery. Nala had been there with him through all of that. She slept with us every night," she said.
The St. Francois County Sheriff's Department said the deputy shot Nala after he received two bite marks. The St. Francois County Ambulance District's administrator said an ambulance was dispatched to the residence after the shooting but was then told no patient was at the scene.
Dianna's dad, Ronald Widner, lives next door to them and ran over to their house right after the shooting.
"Nala welcomed everybody — all her dogs welcomed everybody," Widner said. "But the way they do it is they jump up on you and their tongue is wagging. They greet people like that. I'm sure that's what happened, and if he has a mark on him, he's got a scratch mark."
Photos reviewed by 5 On Your Side show a brown dog lying in a gravel driveway with blood on her head. The Dollins family said these photos show the moments following the shooting. The photos show the dog was also wearing a shock collar at the time of the shooting, which would have prevented her from leaving the property.
"The county says there's no dash cams in our vehicles, there are no body cams for St. Francois County," Dianna said. "That's an that's not acceptable. It's just devastating. There are no other words for it. He shouldn't have been on my property. He could have had lights on or honked or something to make my husband know that he was there. I'm here to get justice for my dog. That man does not need to have a gun. This does not need to happen to anyone else."
Sheriff Bullock said the office is waiting on reports from the Farmington Police Department who had officers respond.
