Family Dog Killed By Deputies Who Went To Wrong Home

HESPERIA, Calif. (AP) -- San Bernardino County sheriff's officials say deputies responding to a domestic violence call shot and killed a dog in a front yard before realizing they were at the wrong home.

Officials say Buddy, a Husky-Labrador mix, was immediately aggressive when deputies entered the property in Hesperia Monday afternoon. Fearing the dog would attack, a deputy shot the animal.

Only after talking to the shocked homeowner did the deputies realize they were meant to be at the house next door.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Buddy's owner, Debra Blackmore, wrote on Facebook that her beloved dog bled to death in the yard.

The sheriff's department in a statement offered "deepest sympathies" to the Blackmores. Officials say the deputies feel terrible about the dog's death but felt they had no other reasonable option at the time.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.