Family Pet Shot in Lafayette Backyard by Police on House Alarm Call

A Lafayette family's 15 year old pet dog was shot inside their fenced backyard today by Lafayette Police. Officers were dispatched when the Sonnier family's house alarm was set off because a door was not properly closed when they left the house this morning. According to the Sonniers, when the alarm went off, the monitoring company called the contact list, including Michelle Sonnier, a nurse practitioner who was with a patient at the time. Her husband Matt was also unable to answer, so they called Michelle's mother, next on the list. She then called Matt - he was able to answer this time - who called the alarm company and told them it was a false alarm- all of this happened within 9 minutes time. About thirty minutes later, Michelle arrived at home, coming in through the garage  entrance in back, and saw the commotion outside. She went out to get the mail and that's when police asked where she came from and told her that they had shot their dog inside their fenced backyard.

A statement from Lafayette Police  reads:

On Monday, January 7, 2013, at approximately 12:20 pm, Lafayette Police responded to a residence in the 200 block of Montauban Drive regarding an alarm activation at a residence. Two Lafayette Police Officers arrived on the scene and began checking the perimeter of the residence. The two officers entered into the backyard that was surrounded by a fence. As officers moved in the direction of the back of the home, a large dog approached them in an aggressive manner. Both officers fired one shot, killing the dog. The officers were not injured during the incident. The incident is being investigated by the Lafayette Police Department’s Internal Affairs Section, which is standard procedure when an officer discharges a firearm.