A Washington state banker tired of hearing a dog barking fatally shot his neighbors' puppy in front of them - but the tiny corgi apparently wasn't the one making all the noise.

David William Latham, from Bellingham, faces charges of felony animal cruelty, among others. His attorney, Adrian Madrone, says his client feels terrible.

Police Lt. Bob Vander Yacht says Latham admitted he shot the dog, a 13-month-old Welsh corgi named Molly, and that 'something made him go over the edge, beyond reason.'

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Dog-eat-dog world: Molly the 13-month-old Welsh corgi was shot dead by her owners' neighbor, who mistakenly thought that she was the dog that had been barking

According to police, Mr Latham, former assistant vice president of Banner Bank, walked across the street Saturday, aimed his gun over his neighbors' backyard fence and shot the pooch.

Owner Loyce Andrews says her husband, Cary Chunyk, ran after Latham but stopped when the 55-year-old suspect brandished the gun at him.

Little Molly bled to death from a single gunshot wound to the chest in her owners' yard.

Other neighbors heard a dog barking and whining at a nearby home for hours after the shooting.

Speaking to The Bellingham Herald Monday, Mrs Andrews wept as she described the shooting that claimed the life of her beloved pet.

According to the woman, on Saturday evening, a large-breed dog living in the neighborhood had been barking for hours in the lead-up to the incident.

Just after 7pm, Cary Chunyk was standing on the patio after feeding his two Welsh corgis, Molly and Kirby, when David Latham approached their knee-high fence.

In cold blood: David Latham, 55 (right), a banker from Washington state, has been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing Molly in front of her owners

The two dogs ran up to the fence to investigate, at which point Mrs Andrews said their neighbor trained a rifle on them, fired a single shot and then slowly walked away without uttering a single word.

When Mr Chuyk screamed at him and tried to go after him, Latham allegedly waved the gun at him, stopping the enraged dog owner in his tracks.

Molly the corgi spent the next 30 minutes wailing in pain as life seeped slowly out of her.

‘I held her the whole time she was dying; she was on the grass,' Andrews told KIRO-TV. 'She was screaming and panting.’

But for hours after Molly drew her last breath, another dog continued barking in the neighborhood.

‘He [Latham] said to the cops, “Oh my God, I shot the wrong dog,”’ Andrews said. ‘As if there’s a right dog.’

Horrified: Loyce Andrews (left) and her husband, Cary Chunyk (right), watched in horror as their puppy bled to death in their backyard after being shot in the chest

The banker was arrested Sunday night on charges of animal cruelly, reckless endangerment, aiming or discharging a firearm and illegal carrying, drawing or exhibiting of a weapon.

The slain dog's owners identified the weapon used in the shooting as a .22 caliber shotgun, but Latham's lawyer claimed in court that his client used a pellet gun.

Despite his confessions to police, Latham pleaded not guilty to all the counts against him on Monday.

The banker is being held on $20,000 bond. He has been banned from possessing firearms, drugs or alcohol, and prohibited from contacting Molly's owners.

However, Mrs Andrews says she is 'scared to death' Latham might come after her.