BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The owner of a puppy fatally shot by city police said he wants answers as to why the 5-month-old pit bull mix was slain in his own yard.

Jake Ballard, 29, doesn't dispute that his puppy, Boogie, was loose, which is a violation of the law. He said his problem is the way it was handled.

"We're real upset," said Ballard. "We're trying to find out what their protocol and training is. Why didn't they call animal control instead of shooting?"

The shooting happened about 7 p.m. Wednesday in the 9300 block of Parkway East. Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr. said the incident occurred outside a restaurant where officers confronted three dogs in a parking lot after a complaint that the dogs were acting aggressively toward people.

Officers saw the dogs approach customers and when they attempted to intervene, Williams said, one dog turned on an officer who fired his gun to halt the attack.

"We value any life," Williams said. "If an officer fears for his safety or the safety of any member of the community of possible serious bodily injury, the officer may have to utilize the force necessary to protect himself or any member of the community."

Ballard said he lives on Brookhurst Drive, next to the Chick-Fil-A where police say the incident happened. Ballard said his puppy, Boogie, always stays inside the house or in the fenced yard, but recently had dug his way out several times.

"I was home at lunch yesterday patching up a place where he had found a way out," Ballard said.

Usually, Ballard said, Boogie would escape the fence but then just sit on the walkway. After the shooting Wednesday night, he said police told him they opened fire after the puppy charged them.

Ballard said Boogie was shot seven times: twice in the right front leg, once in the other three legs, once in the hind and once point-blank in the head.

"He died on my walkway," Ballard said, which he estimated to be between 50 and 100 yards away from the restaurant. "The cops say he charged them, but it sounds more like he ran from them and he fired anyway. It looked like he was desperately trying to back in my yard."

Ballard was given a citation because his dog was not restrained or contained.

Pictures of the bleeding dog were posted on Facebook, and angered animal-lovers from as far as Canada, who complained about the incident on the police department's Facebook page, and sent emails to The Birmingham News demanding action be taken.

Police said the incident is under investigation by the department's Internal Affairs Division, which handles investigations on all incidents involving the discharge of an officer's weapon.