Family seeks answers after their dog was shot by BCSO deputy

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A North Valley family says their dog was shot by a BCSO officer in their front yard.

While they are happy their dog, Leche, is alive, they say it is frustrating no one at the sheriff’s office has been able to give them a straight answer as to why a deputy shot Leche.

“We were sitting inside we just got back from walking the dogs, so we were sitting there, and we heard two gunshots and I came running out,” Jerry Carbajal, Leche’s owner, said. “That’s when I saw the police officer out here in the driveway he was yelling I shot your dog I shot your dog.”

The shooting happened on Oct. 6. Nearly a week later, the dog is still undergoing surgery.

“We go through surgery tomorrow, we were going to try and save his leg, but the X-rays show there is too much damage to his shoulders, so they are going to amputate,” Carbajal said.

Carbajal says last Friday Leche was tied to a tree in the front yard when he was shot. At that moment, Carbajal was more worried about saving his dog than getting an explanation from the deputy.

“He didn’t give me no reason and I didn’t stay long enough to find out – all I know was my dog was tied up. So, I picked him up and took him straight to the hospital where they saved him,” Carbajal said.

Carbajal has tried to piece together what led to the shooting, but he says no one has given him an answer as to why BCSO deputies were in the yard in the first place.

“One was that they were here with zoning, another was they got a call for traffic, another one said they got a call someone was in the driveway,” Carbajal said.

KOB 4 asked the sheriff’s office about the incident:

“I can confirm that this is indeed our ongoing case. Whenever a firearm is discharged on duty resulting in an animal being shot, it automatically triggers an internal affairs investigation. Currently, the incident remains under investigation, and unfortunately, I don’t have any additional details to share at this time,” Jayme Fuller, BCSO spokesperson, said in an email.

Leche’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to cover his medical expenses.