A beloved family dog, who her owner referred to as the “heart of the family,” was killed in a cruel act of violence over the weekend. According to Sunday’s WJTV News, on Saturday, someone broke into a Vicksburg, Mississippi, home and killed the family’s senior dog.

Robert Sanders told WJTV News that he believes his dog was defending her home when the burglar(s) shot her multiple times – he said, “they had literally shot our dog, the dog was shot three times, twice in the leg and one in the head.”

Several items were taken from the ransacked home, but nothing as important as the life of the dog who had been a part of the Sanders family for the past eight years.