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TOOELE — A man who killed his dog by firing a gun into his backyard from inside his living room is being investigated by Tooele police, according to a search warrant unsealed in 3rd District Court.

As of Monday, the man had not been arrested or charged.

On Nov. 29, police responded to reports of shots fired at a Tooele home. When they arrived, they found a deceased black Labrador and an "upset" homeowner, the warrant affidavit states.

The homeowner told officers he "routinely shoots a pellet gun at voles in the yard," the warrant states. "He said … he was shooting from the living room area toward the backyard through an open door. He said the dog was running around the yard and ran in front of the door at the same time he shot."

Officers at the house "observed in plain view a revolver on the couch, a rifle on the floor just inside the door of the residence, and an additional rifle in the residence," according to the warrant.

Officers also observed a hole in the side of the residence. After talking to neighbors, they learned that the homeowner had told them that he once fired a rifle through the wall of his residence "while he was 'drunk and playing' with the gun when it went off," the warrant states.

The homeowner had also "bragged" that he has used a .45-caliber handgun to shoot a water heater in the basement, police were told by neighbors, according to the affidavit.

The search warrant lists multiple weapons seized from the house, as well as boxes of live and spent ammunition.

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