Menlo Park PD searching for suspect who shot dog in owner's yard
MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- Menlo Park police are searching for a young man who allegedly shot a dog, which police say was done, "for no apparent reason."
"When that shot was let off, I actually just rushed out here. That was my first instinct. All I heard was Rambo cry," says Damian Young.
Young has been raising his pit bull, Rambo, since he was a pup.
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He gets emotional thinking about Sunday night.
He was the one who called 911 after Rambo was shot. His big concern was if Rambo would survive.
"That was going through my mind the entire time!" says Young.
Young says his dad took Rambo out Sunday night to play in the yard. Young's father declined to be interviewed on camera, but he told ABC7 News that a young man dressed in all black and wearing a hoodie, was slowly riding a bike down their block.
Rambo saw the bicyclist and ran towards the fence, barking. According to the father, that's when the man pulled out a .45-caliber handgun and shot the dog.
"The bullet penetrates his neck, grazes his shoulder and also grazes his heart and lung, which is so crazy and so lucky for Rambo," explains Young.
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Rambo was treated at SAGE Veterinary Center in Palo Alto. Doctors say he will survive.
Collin, who did not want to give his last name, has lived in the neighborhood for the past 25 years. He walks his dogs at least once a day.
He says there is no reason anyone should open fire on a dog playing in a residential neighborhood - even if in self-defense.
"It is just unbelievable. Why would anybody shoot a pet? It's a dog. It's not bothering you. Why would anybody do that? It's shocking," says Collin.
Young and his family are happy that Rambo survived the shooting and is recovering. He came home from the hospital Monday night.
"He stood next to me, being by my side as if I was the one who got shot. He played it off so smooth. Man, he has such a gold heart," says Young.
After the story aired on ABC7 News, Rambo's family sent us video of him being taken home after undergoing surgery and settling into his bed while his family showed him love.
