Mass. Officer Shoots and Kills Husky Puppy After Mistaking It for a Coyote: 'I'm Still in Shock,' Owner Says

Kirk Rumford is remembering his dog Odin as a "big, klutzy, fuzzy goofball" after he was fatally shot on Nov. 19

A dog owner in Massachusetts is in "shock" after police say an animal control officer shot and killed his husky puppy after mistaking it for a coyote.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, around 11:30 a.m. local time, the Northbridge Police Department responded after getting a call about a neighbor spotting a coyote in her backyard, Police Chief Tim Labrie said, per multiple outlets, including The Milford Daily News and Boston CBS affiliate WBZ.

An animal control officer then went into the woods to search for a coyote, before he spotted the husky and fatally shot the dog in what police are calling "truly an honest mistake."

"While he's in the woods, he hears a blood-curdling scream from the same lady that he just spoke to, so he runs back out and sees what he believed was a coyote," Labrie told WBZ. "So he takes up his position, he's calling out to distract it, maybe it'll take off, gets within 10 yards and that's when he fired a shot and killed the coyote."

However, the animal turned out to be Kirk Rumford's 10-and-a-half month-old pup Odin, per the Daily News.

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"He was a good dog," Rumford told the outlet. "He was a big, klutzy, fuzzy goofball. I'm still in shock."

The Northbridge Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Sunday, Nov. 24.

Labrie told the Associated Press that the responding officer later saw the dog's flea collar and knew he was a pet and not a coyote.

Rumford doesn't believe his dog resembles a coyote, telling the outlet that he "would have been the most gorgeous coyote ever, on steroids." He described his dog to the AP as a “knucklehead” and a “loveable klutz” who loved to play with other dogs.

"Look at pictures of what a coyote looks like in Massachusetts and my dog. My dog was beautiful. He looked like a wolf if anything, and there are no wolves in Massachusetts," Rumford added.

And though Labrie told the Daily News that the dog looked "identical to a coyote," Rumford disagreed and also said that the dog's behavior described by police didn't match the characteristics of Odin.

"[The animal control officer] said he was growling at him and baring his teeth. My dog never growled at another dog, let alone a person. He's not aggressive at all, he's a big goofball, he's never shown his teeth once," he told WBZ. "I take food out of his mouth and bring him to the dog park and he just plays with everybody."

According to the Daily News, Rumford's dog would often escape and visit neighbors, but the owner said he'd never cause trouble.

He added that, on the morning of Odin's death, he went to the grocery store to look for dog biscuits to encourage the canine to come home.

However, he later got a Ring camera alert and saw authorities in his yard, and later spoke with Labrie and was informed that Odin was shot and killed.

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Per the Daily News, Labrie said the animal control officer that killed Odin had been on the job for 21 years and had "euthanized" several coyotes during that time.

The police chief called the dog's death a mistake and said the officer was "doing his job." Labrie also told the AP that the department has seen a "bit of an uptick in coyote calls."

"I would call it a mistaken identity," Labrie told WBZ. "The dog owner, we know that he's upset. He lost his dog, which is, to a lot of people, is like a child. The animal control officer has been doing this for 21 years, he's an animal lover himself, he's clearly upset."

Police have since told WBZ that they're willing to help Rumford however they can moving forward, including paying for a cremation.

Labrie, per the AP, encouraged dog owners to follow leash laws and to keep "identifying markers" on their dogs if they tend to wander in the woods.

"I just don't want this happening to anyone else," Rumford told the Daily News, adding of Odin: "He was my reason to come home every day."