A Michigan, man says that he was outside just feet away from his dog Roxy when she was shot and killed by a garbage man who was walking up his driveway on Monday evening to collect the trash. Marc Boyer says that he wants the garbage man to be prosecuted. His nine-year-old Labrador-Rottweiler mix was hanging out in the yard with Boyer while he was working on the house.

“That guy just didn’t give us a chance… I fully believe he came to work yesterday morning, with a gun, looking to assassinate our dog.”

Boyer says that the Modern Waste Systems garbage man began walking up his driveway, when his dog got up and began to bark. Boyer adopted Roxy as a puppy and says the dog was never aggressive. He claims that the dog was about five yards away from the garbage man when the shots were fired. Roxy was shot three times in the head.

“The garbage truck pulled up…. Roxy growled and she started to bark and before she even got the bark out the garbage man shot her three times in the head,” Boyer said.

Police were dispatched to the home at 5:44 p.m. on July 6. The garbage man has not been identified by police, but on social media, he has been defended as a responsible young man who has served 5 tours in Afghanistan. One friend, who is only identified as “Steve” explained how he had heard the story.

“The truck was at the road. He was in the driveway almost behind the house so turning his back on the dog and running for the truck was NOT an option. He didn’t bring the gun to work to shoot the dog. He carries all the time for protection. He felt threatened and took steps to protect himself.”

Garbage man shoots dog to death http://t.co/vFxocPc82h pic.twitter.com/x4VaMJFh7c — Justin Miller (@justinjm1) July 7, 2015

Boyer’s long-time girlfriend, Kim Houvner, who also considered Roxy part of the family, sobbed as she told WILX that she was in the house when the dog was shot by the garbage man. She went over to Roxy immediately.

“It was awful, absolutely awful watching her die because that person shot her three times in the face. I just pet her for a second and she fell to the ground, and I knew she was dead.”

According to the Jackson Police, the garbage man said that he shot the dog in self defense. He said that the dog had been unleashed in the yard the week before, and he felt the dog was dangerous. In Jackson, the city ordinance states that animals must be leashed if they are off of their own property, but the garbage man said that the week before the dog had also barked at him to the point where he felt like he needed to shield himself with a garbage can, MLIVE reported.

The Modern Waste System representative told WILX that the garbage man had never reported any issues with the dog to the company.

Modern Waste Systems’ company policy allows its garbage men to carry a firearm if they have the mandated license. The garbage man, according to police, had a permit for his weapon and held a valid CPL. Still, Philip Duckham, the owner of Modern Waste Systems, told reporters that the man was fired from his job on Tuesday. Duckham says that he “does not condone this action.” He says that the company has never faced an issue like this during the entire 45 years it has been in business.

Duckham says that he has personally apologized to Roxy’s family. He also said that, while he understands nothing can replace the dog shot by the garbage man under his employment, he will help if Boyer wishes to bring another dog into the family in the future.

Boyer says that the garbage man had never mentioned that he was concerned with the dog in the yard. He says the entire situation could have been avoided, if the garbage man had just let him know that he was afraid of Roxy before he chose to shoot and kill Boyer’s dog in her own yard, while he stood just feet away.

[Photo via WILX video screengrab]