BREMERTON, Wash. -- What appears to be a case of animal cruelty has claimed the life of a beloved dog.

The owners call it an evil act and says other neighborhood pets could be in danger.

Lucas Hart personally trained her German shepherd, Colonel, for search and rescue missions.

Colonel was cruising the neighborhood as he's done every day for the past several years when someone put a bullet in his back leg.

"Somebody that was cowardly and evil decided to shoot him," Hart said.

Hart lives in a wooded area of Bremerton on a block where leashed dogs are a rare sight.

"They kind of like the idea of having dogs roam around because it does keep the coyotes away from the property, away from the cats and kids," he said.

When Colonel finally found his way back to the house, he was bleeding and barely alive.

Hart rushed Colonel to a veterinarian, who said surgery was possible but unlikely to help. Because of the dog's age and other health problems, the dog would remain in pain.

Hart then had to make the heartbreaking decision to put his beloved dog to sleep.

"You would have probably," he said. "Anybody who has seen an animal in that much pain would have probably done the humane thing."

Investigators believe the dog was shot in the neighborhood as it was walking or running away. Detectives plan to run ballistics on the slug they recovered from Colonel's leg.

The news caught the attention of the animal advocates with Pasado's Safe Haven.

"The dog was shot from the back. I think it's cut-and-dry cruelty," said Angel with Pasado's.

The group is now offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction to the gunman.