Pet dog shot dead outside couple's Longparish home
A couple's pet dog has been shot dead outside their home in Hampshire.
The couple were inside their home in Broad Acre, Longparish, near Andover, when they heard their golden retriever in distress outside, on 12 July.
When they went outside they found the dog was dead. It had been shot by an airgun on the left side of its body near the ribcage, police said.
The couple have suffered a range of attacks prior to this incident, such as their chickens going missing.
On the evening of this incident two neighbours reported hearing a single gunshot.
Two weeks earlier someone reported seeing a person walking along the hedge of the couple's property and believed they were carrying a broken shotgun over their arm, police said.
The dog's owner also claims that he has seen men in the past in the fields behind his house with shotguns.
He says he saw a man with what he thinks was a .22 rifle with a silencer attached, five weeks before his dog's death.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Hampshire Police.