Service dog shot on Oakland freeway dies

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A service dog has died after a shooting on an Oakland freeway Friday night, the family says.

The CHP is asking for witnesses to come forward after the shooting on I-980 in Oakland. A man driving the car the dog was riding in was also shot.

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"Some bullet fractured in my neck here, in the back of the neck, in the front of the neck I'd be dead," said David Freitag of San Leandro.

His wounds are still fresh.

Freitag was driving eastbound on I-980 near I-580 around 7:30 p.m. Friday when multiple bullets struck his rental car, shattering windows. Four-year-old service dog Layla was in the passenger seat.

"Standing next to me with the bullets entering from the side, she probably took them before they got to me," Freitag said.

Layla was shot twice. The Shepherd-Pharoah Hound mix died early Sunday.

"Layla's breathing got more and more labored and miracles were in short supply. The GoFundMe raised $1,100+ in a few hours but the MRI, which needed to happen Sunday morning, was $5,000. Then surgery which had less than 50 percent chance. Things just moved too fast. Layla passed peacefully an hour ago," Freitag said.