Police have shot a beloved pet dog to put it out of its misery after accidentally hitting it with their car, but the graphic killing has been lambasted for its cruelty.
Neither the driver nor the passenger of vehicle saw the dog before it was hit in Mount Isa on Sunday afternoon.
A police officer attending the scene observed the animal was showing "obvious signs of trauma injuries" and was in distress.
He decided to euthanise the dog immediately by shooting it to avoid further suffering for the animal, Queensland Police said on Monday.
But video footage surfacing online of the incident has caused outrage, with the family that owned the pet reportedly seeing their dog being put down.
The animal can be seen wagging its tail in the footage, as people begin to scream when the gun is fired.
