An animal control officer shot and killed a pet dog in a Massachusetts town after mistaking it for a coyote in an incident that has the animal's owner fuming, but that local police are describing as a sad mix-up.

Kirk Rumford’s beloved husky Odin was killed by a Northbridge animal control officer investigating a report of a coyote in the area.

In Northbridge, Massachusetts, a husky named Odin was mistakenly shot and killed by an animal control officer who took it for a coyote. The incident has left the owner, Kirk Rumford, devastated, but local police are calling it an unavoidable error.

The animal control officer went into the woods to look for the coyote and found what they thought was the animal in a threatening position and shot it.