Service Dog Shot While Attacking Man Who Assaulted Owner

A Missouri man was arrested after he shot a service dog, who had tried to protect its owner during an assault outside a Platte County motel.

Mardrecuis D. Williams, 25, was charged with three counts of second-degree assault, three counts of armed criminal action and one count each of unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree trespass and causing substantial injury to a service dog, local news outlet KSHB reported.

Williams and another person, who was accompanying him, on Feb. 26, got into a fight with a woman, her brother and boyfriend at Motel 6 near Barry Road and Interstate 29. The accused was told to leave the property and not to return to the facility again.

Despite being warned, Williams came back to the motel and knocked a couple of times on the door of the room where the woman was staying. When he was denied access, he went back and returned with his companion the next morning. After the victim and her family members checked out of the hotel, Williams and the second suspect, who were hiding behind a dumpster, began attacking them.

At that moment, a three-year-old Border Collie named Lolly, which was the woman’s service dog, started to attack Williams in a bid to protect its owner. The suspect allegedly shot the service dog, causing it to suffer a gunshot wound to her left side, a three-inch laceration to her rear leg and a ruptured spleen. Lolly was taken to an area animal hospital, where she received surgery. According to the veterinary staff, the canine’s intestines had spilled out of its body due to the impact of the bullet.

Lolly’s owner told the police that she suffered from a medical condition that caused her joint pain, dizziness and panic attacks and hence was dependent on her service dog to provide comfort during panic attacks. She also mentioned that she had received chemotherapy the day before the incident took place.

A GoFundMe page was set up by the service dog’s owner to raise money for the animal’s treatment. “On Wednesday morning February 27th the day after my chemo appointment outside my hotel room my boyfriend Devin, little brother, service dog Lolly and I where [Sic] jumped by two men and robbed, everyone sustained injuries. During the incident my service dog of three years was shot through the abdomen and back leg. We are asking for donations for her outstanding vet bill of over $6500 anything will help,” the fundraising page said.

The campaign has so far collected $3000 of its $10,000 goal. After his arrest, Williams was held at the Jackson County Jail on a $35,000 cash bond.

Last month, an Arizona man was arrested for stabbing his service dog to death. Jacob Bushkin, 27, the owner of four-year-old golden retriever, "Cub," called his family members and told them that his dog’s body was found in a trash can. Necropsy revealed the dog was alive at the time of the attack and that it was stabbed over a 100 times and its throat was slit. Bushkin was later taken into custody and charged with killing a service animal and animal cruelty.