Update: Cop Who Shot Farm Dog Speaks Out, Cries Crocodile Tears, Hires Lawyer

Jerrod Dooley, the former police officer who shot and killed Candy, the Blue Heeler farm dog owned by Cole and Jayna Middleton, has spoken out about the incident.

Dooley hired criminal defense attorney Peter Schulte (who happens to be a former police officer) to represent him.

This video from KLTV shows Dooley’s dash cam video footage. You can hear Dooley speaking to Candy, and then see her jump out of the back of Middleton’s truck.

Dooley claims to be upset over the incident:

“I wish I could take his hurt away I can’t begin to imagine how bad it hurts. I hear her yelp every night before I go to bed. Probably not a minute goes by I don’t think about it.”

Did he seem upset the day of the shooting, though? And if he truly felt bad about shooting Candy, when Middleton asked him to fire one more shot to put her out of her misery, why didn’t he comply? Instead, Middleton had to drown his own beloved family pet to end her suffering.

Also, you cannot hear gunshots in the dash cam video, but Dooley claims to have fired at Candy twice:

Dooley said he fired two shots – missing on the first attempt.

Dooley and his attorney said that first shot may have caused the dog to turn its head, explaining why it was shot in the back of the head.

Cole Middleton said neighbors only heard one gunshot, but he said if there were two shots, the first would have made candy retreat.

Rains County Sheriff David Traylor said the investigation is not over, and that Dooley is not eligible for rehire.

KLTV uncovered some of Dooley’s work history:

Dooley has worked off-and-on in law enforcement dating back to 2006, according to records from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. He started his law enforcement career as a jailer in Dallas County. He moved on to Quinlan Police Department in 2010, Fannin County Sheriff’s Office in 2011-12, and the Rains County Sheriff’s Office from 2013-14.

Schulte told MyFoxDFW that Dooley had only been with the Rains Sheriff’s Department a few months and he only received a day and a half of field training before he was put on patrol. Schulte believes that lack of training was a factor in the shooting.

But if Dooley worked for two police departments prior to working for Rains County, wouldn’t he have had some type of police training in the past?

Middleton told KLTV he will never forget what happened, but he is beginning to forgive Dooley for his actions.

The Middletons have received financial donations from supporters and are hoping to start a non-profit to better train officers in how to deal with situations like this. They have started a Go Fund Me campaign called Justice for Candy Middleton:

As we continue to fight for Justice for Candy by pursuing animal cruelty charges as well as illegal search and seizure (opening the doors to our house without permission). I think that Jayna and I have decided to use ANY money leftover, after all the legal ramifications, to bring attention to making police officers go through animal interaction training ( especially with that of dogs). We also feel that dogs that are wrongfully killed by police officers should be treated as dependents and not property! This must be a crime! This will ensure that any donation will not only help with Justice for Candy, but will hopefully provide new laws and requirements known as Candy’s Law (or likewise). This way any $ donated will only and always be used for Candy’s Justice. Thank you all, God Bless, and Justice for Candy!

Perhaps something good will come out of Candy’s death, and maybe someday other families will not have to suffer the senseless loss of a beloved family pet at the hands of a trigger-happy thug.