An 'aggressive' chihuahua was barking at a sheriff's deputy. The officer opened fire.

An Arkansas sheriff’s deputy was fired after shooting a barking chihuahua in the head Friday, an incident officials labeled “disheartening.”

Faulkner County Sheriff Tim Ryals said in a statement Saturday that deputy Keenan Wallace had been terminated after it was determined there were “numerous opportunities to de-escalate the incident.”

Cellphone video of the encounter shows Wallace opening fire on the dog — named Reese’s — within feet of its owner, Doug Canady. Police say the incident began following a call for service for an “aggressive” dog at Canady’s home.

Canady told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that police were called by a woman standing in the road in front of his home, who pointed a gun toward his property. When Canady told the woman to put the gun away, she complied but threatened to call authorities, he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/an-aggressive-chihuahua-was-barking-at-a-sheriffs-deputy-the-officer-opened-fire/ar-BBRWGiN?li=BBnbcA1