Most pet owners try their best to keep their animals safe. For one pet owner in Ringle, the unthinkable happened this Friday. Their 7-month-old German Sheppard mix puppy named Moccasin was shot with a 20-gauge shotgun.

According to police records and the dog's owners, Moccasin got out of a dog door on the owners home in Ringle Friday morning.

The owners were in the process of building a pen outside around the door.

The owners say they immediately started looking for Moccasin, yelling his name. Within minutes they heard a shotgun go off, and a scream coming from their neighbors yard.

The owners tell say they found Moccasin bleeding from it's hind quarters, and you could clearly tell the dog had been shot. The 7-month-old puppy had surgery the same day.

Records show the veterinary office found more than 100 shotgun pellets still lodged in it's hindquarters. According to a deputy's report the owner's neighbor admitted to shooting the puppy with a 20-gauge shotgun because it was showing aggression.

The owners don't believe the claim.

"The dog has never shown any kind of aggression to anyone and he's just a puppy and we're just concerned that Mox had sustained some life-threatening injuries and thank God he didn't," says dog owner Becky Samza.

We also tried to get the neighbor's side of the story this Sunday and knocked on the door, but no one was home. Reports show Marathon County Sheriff's Department is recommending the district attorney charge the neighbor with mistreating an animal.

We should have more information on what, if any, charges are filed for you tomorrow.