A Vietnam veteran and his family are in mourning after an unidentified gunman shot his therapy dog of 10 years.
Bob Cook of Maple Shade, New Jersey, told NBC10 his dog Toby, a Pomeranian poodle mix, had gotten out of his home on the 800 block of Greenwood Avenue Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. As he searched for him, Cook heard Toby howling in pain.
“I saw him laying in the street,” Cook said. “I picked him up with my bum leg and all and I ran back to the house. I said we had to get him to the vet.”
Toby was taken to a local veterinarian who found a bullet lodged in his head. Unable to be saved, Toby was humanely euthanized on Wednesday.
“We both just started crying,” Cook’s granddaughter Amber Cook told NBC10.
Toby was a beloved part of Bob Cook’s family as well as his therapy dog.
“He’s a veteran who has some PTSD and depression issues and Toby gave him a reason to get up and they’d go for walks,” Amber Cook said.
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The family doesn’t know why anyone would shoot the small and friendly animal.
“Such a little loving guy,” Amber Cook said. “Everyone in the neighborhood knew Toby.”
Maple Shade Police and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office are both investigating the incident and searching for the person responsible for Toby’s death.
“He needs psychiatric help,” Bob Cook said. “Anybody who would do that. He caused the whole family misery.”
If you have any information on the incident, please call Maple Shade Police at 856-234-8300 and reference case 2019-16928.
