Woman says man shot at her dog on Lockport Rail Trail
LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — A woman was on a morning stroll last Friday on the Lockport Rail Trail with her 6-year-old Rottweiler, Dozer, when she said a random person shot him.
When Laura Tomaszewski approached Murphy Road, she saw someone walking towards them on the path. She said the person flashed a light at them, then heard what sounded like a gunshot and then her dog yelp.
“When it happened, a big bang went off, a big spark went off, a flash of light — almost sounded like a firecracker happened and that’s why I believe it was a gun and not a BB gun or pellet gun,” she said. “Whatever it was, it went through my dog’s leg.”
It was still dark outside when it happened and Tomaszewski couldn’t see the person’s face, but she heard him ask himself, “What did I do?”
“He said, ‘What did I do?’ and that’s when I said, ‘You shot my dog,'” Tomaszewski said.
The man tried to argue with her.
“That’s when he said, ‘He was lunging at me and I said, ‘No he was not, he was on leash,” she said. “Obviously we were screaming, it was more heated than that. I said, ‘No you shot my dog’ and he said, ‘He was barking at me.’ He was not barking, but even if he was, that should be more of a sign that this is a dog, don’t shoot.”
The man then ran off down Murphy Road.
Dozer needed emergency surgery and is now recovering from his injuries.
“He’s a family dog, we love him. He’s our protector dog for our house and takes care of us. He’s the biggest lap dog I know. He loves hugs and cuddles and I hope he gets better and makes it through it,” Tomaszewski said. “I hope also too that he’s not traumatized to walk down the path anymore with anybody, or even people approaching us and him being scared about it, you know.”
State police are investigating the incident. It’s unclear what type of weapon the person had with them on the trail.
A GoFundMe was started to raise money for Dozer’s medical expenses.
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Sarah Minkewicz is an Emmy-nominated reporter and Buffalo native who has been a part of the News 4 team since 2019. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahMinkewicz and click here to see more of her work.
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