Arlo, a Brittany Spaniel, was shot and killed on Sept. 28 by a 65-year-old man with a pellet gun, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Kristen Dymacek.

Arlo is what Jessica Graff and her husband Andrew Surmeier lovingly refer to as a “foster failure.”

The couple brought Arlo, then a 3-month-old Brittany Spaniel puppy, into their foster-dog home and couldn’t bear to part with him.

“We had him for about 20 minutes and we decided we were going to pay the adoption fee,” Surmeier said.

“He was the nicest, sweetest dog ever,” Graff added.

On Sept. 28, Arlo was shot and killed outside the couple’s home, in the 1700 block of East 1318 Road, Graff said. Now, the family is trying to keep it together while waiting for the legal process to take over.

Wednesday, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Kristen Dymacek said in a news release that deputies had finished their investigation.

Arlo was allegedly shot by a neighbor of Graff and Surmeier’s, a 65-year-old man who told deputies the dog had been on his property, Dymacek said.

Dymacek would not release the man’s name.

Both Graff and Surmeier strongly dispute the man’s claims, saying Arlo was nowhere near his property at the time of the shooting.

At the time of the incident, just after 10 a.m., Graff said she was home with her 3-year-old daughter and Arlo, who was outside.

Graff said she let her daughter out the back door to play and returned shortly after to find the child screaming and pointing at Arlo, who was lying on the ground.

“I knew immediately he was dead,” she said.

Arlo, a Brittany Spaniel, was shot and killed on Sept. 28 by a 65-year-old man with a pellet gun, said Douglas County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Kristen Dymacek.

Graff said it was not clear whether Arlo was shot while her daughter was nearby.

“For us that’s a scary thought,” she said.

Graff called Surmeier, who returned home and called deputies.

Following encouragement from Lawrence Attorney Katie Barnett, Surmeier and Graff said they took Arlo to the Lawrence Humane Society for a necropsy, another word for an autopsy. The results showed he had been shot through the heart and the lung, they said.

Behind the couple’s home, which is outside of Lawrence city limits, a wooden stake marks the spot where Graff says she found Arlo lying dead. The stake is mere feet from the couple’s back door.

After measuring, Surmeier said the distance between the stake and his neighbor’s property is at least 160 feet. This fact, he says, lends itself to the notion that Arlo was not on the neighbor’s property when he was shot.

“A dog shot through the heart is not going to make it 160 feet,” he said.

Instead, Graff and Surmeier say it’s most likely that Arlo was shot very close to where he was found, in the center of their property.

Barnett said the results are important considering any potential criminal charges.

If Arlo had been on the neighbor’s property, he might have had legal cause to shoot him, she said.

“But Arlo was found dead on his own property,” she said.

Now, if taken to court, the man will have to prove that Arlo was on his property, Barnett said.

Depending on the facts surrounding the case, Barnett said the man could face either a misdemeanor or felony charge related to the intentional killing of an animal.

Graff and Surmeier say they hope he is charged with a felony and loses the ability to own firearms. In particular they’re afraid for the safety of their children and pets.

“We assume he has more firearms at his house,” Graff said.

Since Arlo’s death, Surmeier and Graff agreed their home has been filled with emotions. Their daughter has been showing signs of behavioral regression and they’re considering looking for a grief counselor for her.

In addition, the couple’s second dog has also been acting noticeably forlorn in Arlo’s absence, they said.

Now that deputies have finished their investigation, the report will be reviewed by the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges.