Officer faces felony charges for allegedly shooting, killing neighbor's dog

MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- (WITI) -- A Milwaukee police officer is facing felony charges for shooting at his neighbors' dogs and killing one of them after the dogs ventured into his yard.

"Vinny passed and it was really hard for me to take it," Kyle Von Drasek said.

Vinny and Effie were the family's dogs, but they were extra special to Von Drasek, who has a cognitive disability.

The week of Thanksgiving, the family let their dogs out into their backyard, like they do most mornings.

The yard was secured by an underground electronic fence. The dogs were linked to it through devices on their collars.

"I whistled and they came back running and the younger dog, Effie, was absolutely in fear. Terrorized," Elizabeth Sandretti, Von Drasek's mother, said.

The criminal complaint says the neighbor shot at the dogs with a Crossman Quest 1000x pellet rifle.