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MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Mt. Juliet family’s dog is recovering after being stabbed six times by a man who says he was protecting his own dog.

The stabbing was caught on camera and the man is a Metro police officer.

The dog was discovered by neighbors, injured in a pool of blood in the Trailwood Farms neighborhood.

Tommy Jacobs says their 13-year-old dog Cami got out in the morning hours of Jan. 17 in the Trailwood Farms subdivision. She was soon found by a couple walking their dog.

“When I got up there he had multiple contusions. It was bleeding a lot. He was in rough shape. I think if he had stayed there another 30 minutes he probably would have bled out,” the Rensch family told News 2.

MORE: Metro officer who stabbed Mt. Juliet dog says his dog was attacked first

Ring video footage of the incident later surfaced online. We chose to mute the video in which you hear a dog yelping continuously and you can see a man repeatedly stabbing the dog. Video that makes Jacobs tear up.

“If a dog was attacking mine, I’d be kicking it and doing whatever I could do to get it away, but I couldn’t imagine pulling out a knife and stabbing that dog,” he explained.

The man in the video, a Metro police officer, told News 2 Cami attacked his dog. He said he tried all that he could do and was just trying to save his dog’s life. However, Jacobs says the video paints a different picture.

“She was being restrained, it’s clear in the video she was being restrained. The dog was standing behind him when he stabbed my dog,” he explained.

Jacobs says he is concerned about the officer abusing his power.

“It makes me wonder you know using excessive force on a dog what are you going to do in the line of duty on something like this with a human,” Jacobs questioned.

Susan Ashmoree, the Neighborhood Watch commander, has the same concerns.

“It tells about the kind of mindset that this person has to just walk away after doing what he did, it’s horrible. If they are willing to do something like that to a dog imagine what they can do to others,” said Ashmoree.

She says the neighborhood has been on heightened alert since the video surfaced.

“The way it had gotten attacked was horrific and it upset a lot of residents here.”

Most residents are concerned the man never came back to check on the dog.

“I’m extremely saddened and troubled by that. This is someone’s pet, someone’s dog, someone’s family,” Ashmoree explained.

The Metro police officer did file a police report with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s office says that anyone has the right to defend themselves and that the owner of the dog would need to prosecute if they feel he uses excessive force. The officer said Cami bit his dog on the back of its neck and had to be taken to a veterinarian for treatment.

The Jacobs are considering prosecuting. They currently have a $1,300 vet bill that’s mounting but say they are just thankful that Cami is alive.