Arkansas sheriff's deputy fired after shooting tiny 'aggressive' dog

Arkansas Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals fired Deputy Keenan Wallace after he shot a small dog while responding to a complaint in the Shiloh Estates subdivision in Conway on Friday night.

What happened?

Wallace was responding to a call about an "aggressive dog," KATV-TV reported.

During the incident, Wallace, a K-9 handler, shot the brown and tan-colored dog, whose name is Reese's Cup.

Reese's is receiving emergency veterinarian care, but is still in danger, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help with her expenses:

"Update 1/6...Reese's is still in the care of the emergency vet receiving treatment. The feeding tube placed on 1/5 was not successful due to bone fragments from shatter in her face. Reese's is not out of danger yet, please continue to pray and send loving comments this way. I have posted a video of Reese's this morning with Doug, her owner. At this time the vet bill is unknown, we've been told $7,000 -$10,000 dollars. Any remaining money will go to Reese's future vet expenses (unknown), food and new bedding, and anything the vet can think of she will need. After that, any remaining donations will go to dog rescues in this area to help another dog like Reese's. Receipts will be provided ***"

Children in the neighborhood are "extremely upset Reese's Cup is hurt," the page states.

Reese's family also wrote: "I'm continuously blown away by you strangers caring for Reese's. Please know all the kids who love her and have shed many tears thank you for helping her."

UPDATE: Here’s a video of Reese’s at the vet, sent to me by Doug Canady. He says the little chihuahua is expected to have surgery for her shattered jaw tomorrow. They’ll also be removing bone that traveled to her stomach. What a tough pooch! #ARNews pic.twitter.com/lqEEYRFAUv

— Shelby Rose (@KATVShelby)

January 6, 2019

How did the Sheriff respond?

Sheriff Ryals wrote about his decision to fire Wallace on Facebook, saying in part:

Deputy Wallace fired his service weapon that injured an animal while in close proximity to a citizen. I believe there were numerous opportunities to de-escalate the incident.

Over the last 24 hours, at my request, Faulkner County Investigators have been working diligently to investigate whether Deputy Wallace violated any state law or our agency's policies and procedures. While it appears no policies or laws were violated, I hold every employee within our agency to the highest of standards and will be forwarding the investigation to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for further review.

He continued: "We in Law Enforcement answer calls every day that require split second life and death decisions. We strive to be right 100 percent of the time.

"Our Department is [saddened] about this incident and apologize for any distress and disappointment this incident has caused anyone who was affected by this disheartening event. We will keep Reese's in our thoughts through the recovery process," the sheriff said.

In one day, 453 people raised $10,323 for Reese's $12,000 GoFundMe campaign, which was still active late Sunday afternoon.

Caution: The following video contains graphic and disturbing images and audio.