FRED, Texas — A family in Tyler County is heartbroken after they found their dog shot to death Monday morning.
The family lives along county road 4582 in Fred. Their small chihuahua went out for the day and never returned home.
"Me and my neighbor who lives behind me we were sitting on my front porch talking. And we go in the house. 10 minutes, 15 minutes later, we hear a gunshot," Robert Crites said.
Robert Crites knew something was wrong when one of his three dogs never made it home.
"My little dog ,'Paco,' never came back," he said.
The next morning, Crites discovered that his three-year-old Chihuahua, Paco, had been shot, killed and then dumped next to his neighbor's fence.
"When I was out there and I found my dog, he started coming outside and hollering and screaming at me, 'get off his property, get away from his property' and this and that. I'm standing on the road on the black top. And I never touched the grass on the other side of the road."
Tyler County Sherriff's Office deputies responded to the incident and even spoke to the neighbor who allegedly shot Paco with a shotgun.
"He shot my dog on purpose. He admitted shooting my dog. Knowing that it's my pet," Crites said.
"So, I hear back from the deputies and he tells me they're not gonna do nothing about it because there ain't no leash law up here or nothing like that. He has every right to shoot varmints that come onto his property. I said, 'This little puppy wasn't a varmint. It was a house pet," he said.
This outcome leaves the family stranded on what else they can possibly do.
"I want justice for Paco. That's all. Justice for Paco, and him to get what he deserves for what he's doing," Crites said. "Tiny. I know, you miss Paco too, huh? That boy in there is what I'm. You know. The stress he's having to go through dealing with this. Yeah. That was his dog."
The Tyler County Sherriff's Office says this is an ongoing investigation but no charges have been filed.
However, the Crites family remain heartbroken to have lost their beloved pet.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.