Cops: Veterinarian Shot Neighbor's Barking Dog

Louisiana veterinarian Kelly Folse's prescription for a barking dog next door was a bullet, police say. Folse, 35, was booked on aggravated cruelty to an animal Tuesday, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. She also faces charges of drug possession and illegal discharge of a firearm. Police say Folse shot Bruizer, her next-door neighbor's 15-month-old American bulldog, in the head when her neighbor was out on the afternoon of Dec. 13. The family took the wounded animal to the Abadie Veterinary Hospital in Harahan, where Folse works, but it died from its injuries the next day. Folse was not involved in caring for the dog, authorities say. The hospital fired Folse on Tuesday.

Police say the neighbor, suspecting Folse had shot her dog, showed them hostile messages from the vet complaining about constant barking. Narcotics were found in the vet's home after police obtained a search warrant. "This is crazy, a veterinarian shooting a dog of her next-door neighbor," Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said Tuesday. "This is nuts. I don't know how else to put it." He added: "This is not supposed to be normal. Someone lost a pet today ... I don't care how much it barks; this is not appropriate behavior," per the Advocate. (A Texas veterinarian who killed a cat with a bow and arrow did not permanently lose her license.)