A police officer shot dead a family's pet dog after responding to an accidental emergency call.
An investigation has been launched after police were called to a family home in Wayland, Massachusetts, in the US, on Monday at around 11.20am.
A child in the home had accidentally phoned up the police after dialling 911 and then hung up, according to local authorities.
The call had alarmed police and an officer was immediately sent to the location of the phone call.
As the officer arrived to the home and spoke to the homeowner the family dog, Blaze, escaped and ran out the house.
The dog then bit the officer multiple times as the police fired his gun to get the pooch off him - which injured the pet.
However, the officer then shot the dog again which fatally killed him.
The officer can be heard asking for back-up as he tells officers: "Get me another car, a dog shot" as he begged for help.
He said: “I just shot a dog, need an ambulance for a dog bite, for myself, ASAP.”
According to officials, the family dog's owner wasn't nearby when the officer shot him dead.
One of the family members was an eyewitness at the scene and said they were coming out of the door when a loud bang went off.
The eyewitness said: “I had a leash and I had a cookie, and I was coming out the door, next thing I hear, I hear boom boom boom!”
One family member said he suddenly noticed "the dog was down on the ground.”
Pet dog Blaze was under 2-years-old and a Labrador mix and 'loyal' and 'protective', according to family members.
However, cops believe he was a pit bull mix as the family paid tribute to their dog.
The family said: “He’s always been really really good around my children, and grandchildren, a gentle dog.”
Blaze was normally instructed to go in a crate if the family had visitors coming round.
The dog's behaviour was a particular concern for police as there had been previous complaints about him.
He had bitten other dogs before and sent two people to hospital with their injuries.
A delivery driver required treatment after dropping off a parcel at the family home when he was attacked by Blaze.
As a result of the attack, the family had neutered Blaze and he was undergoing more dog training to help his behaviour.
The family said: “A person in New Hampshire that works with dogs, trains dogs and also gives him anxiety medicine, so we were trying really hard to do that for him.
"We just tried to do what we had to do. I mean, if it was more than a bite that he had done to someone, we would have gotten rid of him.”
Wayland police have confirmed they consider the case as a "use of force incident".
The are continuing their investigation into the dog's death.
