15-year-old charged with shooting family’s friendly dog in the head

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A neighborhood teen has been charged with shooting a family’s friendly dog in the head on Thursday afternoon in the Marquette Park area of Chicago. The dog’s owner Maritza Galindo let her two dogs out into the yard for a bathroom break, but within minutes Luna somehow got out of the yard. As soon as they realized it, the family went searching for their dog.

“Everybody knows her in the neighborhood,” Maritza told reporters from the Chicago Tribune.  “Here in the neighborhood, kids next door with come to Luna and play with her because they know she is not bad … She’s a pit bull terrier and that’s the thing; people always think they’re bad dogs by looking at them. They think they’re dangerous, but it all depends on how you raise them.”

Maritza’s three young children – aged 3, 7, and 8 miss their dog, but have not been told Luna had been shot in the head and is awaiting surgery. All they know is that their best friend has been hurt.

Police in the neighborhood did hear a gunshot on Thursday afternoon, and when they arrived, they found the injured dog; a 15-year-old boy had been spotted running from the scene. Officers caught up with the teen and found him holding the gun. He told authorities he was scared the dog was going to hurt him, although there has been no evidence Luna ever showed any aggression. The youth has been charged with five felonies for shooting Luna – which include the aggravated use of a weapon without a state firearms identification care, theft, criminal damage of a domestic animal, aggravated cruelty to animals and reckless discharge of a firearm.

Chicago Animal Care and Control released Luna back to her family, who rushed their dog to the family vet where an X-ray showed the bullet was lodged between the dog’s eyes and would require surgery to remove it. The family was given some pain medication for their dog, but finances precluded them from affording the operation estimated to cost between $1,500 and $8,000. On the brink of tears, Maritza thought her dog was going to die – the dog she has raised from a puppy with her kids.

On Friday, Chicagoland Rescue Intervention and Support Program (CRISP) stepped in to help. With the cooperation of One Tail at a Time, a donor has been found to help pay some of Luna’s surgery. A YouCaring page can be found here. She is scheduled for surgery on Monday at MedVet; the family hopes she survives and just wants her back.

Photos of teen charged with shooting family dog in the head Chicagoland Rescue Intervention and Support Program)

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22 COMMENTS

  1. I really with the penalty fit the crime: in this case, that POS would be put behind bars for the next 20 years or more. He’s a potential murderer, or maybe he is a killer, because he might have killed other pets already. Luna is a good dog who did nothing wrong, and this filth has no conscience. I hope she’s going to be okay..

  2. This 15 year old punk needs to be held responsible for his cruel actions – what was he doing wandering the streets w/a gun? I hope these charges are not downgraded – he needs to feel the full impact of what he did. Where the hell are this kid’s parents? I hope Luna fully recovers and this teen is treated like the danger he has proven he is.

  3. How nice a 15 year old running around with a gun shooting dogs! How much sooner will hit be him shooting another human because he is “scared” of them! I’m so glad that at least Luna has a family willing to go to bat for their dog and doing everything they can for her instead of just turning her over for someone else to deal with. Keeping Luna and her family in our prayers, I hope she recovers and has a wonderful full life.

  4. Poor Luna! ! Hopes shese surgeri Will go tight ???????????? Hold my fingers ???????????????????? GOOD LUCK SWEETIE !!! YOUR FAMILY WONT YOU BACK !!❤❤❤❤

  5. Hmm, Chicago is a gun free zone. Police need to look at the parents and how he got a gun. I hope the dog survives and the family sues the kid and his parents

  6. I think the teens Parents should have to pay for the surgery….I don’t believe he was in danger, I think he shot the dog on purpose, and probably thought he could get away with it! Hope and pray the dog makes a full recovery!

  7. Of course the POS just happens to have a gun on him. He was scared of Luna? So he enters his home to get a gun because he was scared hmmmmmmm he should have stayed indoors. Lying prick.

  8. Another case of a scumbag kid hurting a dog! He was afraid of the dog bull he had thr gun already why would he have the gun if he wasnt planning on shooting the dog? Donation sent for Lunas surgery! If these vets know what they are doing she will be just fine! Antibiotics for to prevent infection! I hope this asshole gets punished accordingly, not a slap on the wrist.

    • I’m sure he wasn’t carrying a gun because he “thought” he was going to run into a “vicious” dog. Most likely he had it with other intentions in mind and I’m sure they weren’t good.

  9. Praying for Luna and that her surgery is successful …… I’m glad they caught who did….kids having too much access to guns.

  10. I’m in tears over each piece of the story, it is nice to know she has been given a chance by having surgery. Praying for a full recovery, speedy and easy. Also praying in this case that justice is not blind, but seeds how horrible people are and serve justice as it should been served. You fight little Luna…you are loved and needed by your family..

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