JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – WBRC is speaking with a woman who claims Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies shot her dog on private property in the middle of the day.
The ones who knew Thunder the best say he was a lover not a fighter.
“He was very well trained,” said Kat Griffith, the dog’s owner. “He was extremely gentle and sweet. He licked children’s faces.”
Griffith said 8-year-old Thunder fell in love with everyone he met and would never hurt anyone, making his death even more shocking.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies shot thunder multiple times around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 13 , according to the dog owner.
“I heard Thunder bark,” Griffith said. “I walked towards the creek, and I yelled his name, and right then I heard multiple gunshots in a row. The sheriff’s deputies were standing there watching my 130-pound self-try and pick up a 65-pound dog up this embankment and I just slid down multiple times. The deputies did not offer an apology or offer to help.”
A spokesperson with the Sheriff’s Office told WBRC its K9 unit was helping the Adamsville Police Department track a suspect who was on the run.
The Sheriff’s Office claims Thunder “charged at a deputy” and was shot.
“He’s never charged someone before,” Griffith said.
The first phone call Griffith made was to her father who burst into tears.
“It broke my heart because they were thick as thieves,” Griffith said. “He’s in a wheelchair and my mom leaves often and my mom and I discussed how we thought Thunder was taking care of my Pops when we weren’t there.”
“All of the sudden I became extremely angry,” Vann Griffith, Kat’s father, said. “I was yelling at the phone. This is a tragedy really for our family. It really was. The sheriff’s department is supposed to protect us, and in this case that didn’t happen.”
The pet owner told WBRC she plans to file a complaint with the sheriff’s office Monday, Nov. 18, but still does not know the name of the deputies involved, despite asking them to identify themselves.
The Sherrif’s Office said there is an on-going investigation into this “deputy involved shooting.”
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