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Tampa Family's Dog Found Shot To Death

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Yadira Contreras, 21, holds Lassie in her mother-in-law's backyard where her dog Princess was shot.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 21, 2008

Updated: 07/21/2008 01:27 pm

TAMPA - Police are searching for the person who fatally shot a family pet below her face early Saturday.

Ada Tavares called the police about 3:45 a.m. and told them she heard a dog barking, then heard a gunshot. After the gunshot, she said she heard a yelp, then silence.

The dog, Princess, was her daughter-in-law's pet.

The 35-pound Rottweiler-German shepherd mix was inside a 5-foot-tall chain-link fence at Tavares' house, at 2139 W. Chestnut St., when she was shot, according to a police report.

"The dog was like a member of a family," said Tavares, 59.

Tavares' daughter-in-law, Yadira Contreras, owns Princess. Contreras' apartment complex doesn't allow dogs, she said.

Contreras said she believes Princess was shot from outside the fence. After Princess was shot, she said, the animal crawled into a doghouse and died.

Contreras said the pet wasn't aggressive.

"The dog was doing her job," she said. "She was in the back taking care of the house."

Contreras, 21, doesn't know who shot the dog. She said it could have been anyone from a neighbor to a criminal passing through.

"It must be a really bad person," she said. "Someone who did this — they don't have no feelings."

The family has two more dogs — Pomeranians named Lassie and Jay — as well as five goldfish and seven birds.

Contreras said the dogs know Princess is gone.

"They feel so sad," she said.

TBO.com producer Daniela Velazquez contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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