Family says neighbor killed their dog over dispute: 'It just doesn't make any sense'

PORT ORCHARD, Wash.  -- A property dispute in Port Orchard turned violent over the weekend.

The owners of a 3-year-old basset hound said their neighbor shot and killed her because she wouldn’t stay out of her neighbor’s yard.

“It just doesn’t make any sense of why anybody would shoot a basset hound," said Annette Fritz.

Annette said the dog, named Butterfinger, was a gift for her husband three years ago on Father’s Day.

The dispute started last spring when the Fritz family said their neighbor complained that Butterfinger kept going into his yard.

But last weekend, Marty Fritz, Annette’s husband, said his dog ran home crying out in pain.

“It was a holler," he said, "I’ve never heard a dog holler like that."

Marty noticed a small wound on Butterfinger and then confronted his neighbor.

“I said, did you shoot my dog? He said, 'I did.' And I instantly dialed -- I said, I’m calling the sheriff,” said Marty.

The Fritzs said animal control officers told them that a necropsy confirmed that Butterfinger was shot with a pellet gun.

“Had went through his liver and through his stomach and that he was hemorrhaging really bad because it ricocheted,” said Annette.



And now the tightly knit family wants their neighbor to face justice for killing their beloved pet.

“He shouldn’t shoot anybody’s dog,” said Marty,

The Kitsap Humane Society is investigating the case and it could be referred to the county prosecutor.