Raleigh, N.C. — A Wake County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a couple’s 3-year-old dog Wednesday night while searching for a runaway teenager.

John and Linda Super say two deputies came to their home on King Circle, looking for a 15-year-old neighbor who had run away and had often spent time with them.

One of the couple’s dogs, Elvis, forced his way out the front door and ran outside as the couple talked to the deputies, they said. One of the deputies shot Elvis twice, including once in the back of the head, killing him, according to the Supers.

“All we’ve got is a dead dog and a lot of questions that need answers,” Linda Super said. “(Elvis) came running out, never bothered a soul, never opened his mouth, never woofed or nothing when he came out the door.”

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said the deputy, Roderick Belfield, said the dog was barking and running towards him. Belfield will not be punished for shooting the dog.

“Nobody wants to shoot a dog, but things like this are going to happen,” Harrison said. “Please put yourself in the deputy’s position. If you had been standing there, what would you have thought when the dog comes out charging towards you?”

Harrison said he is investigating whether Belfield or the other deputy, Kenneth Edward Kay, used profanity while subduing John Super, who was upset after the shooting. John Super says the deputies were rough with him.

One of the runaway teen's guardians said Elvis was "vicious" and had lunged for the deputy, something the Supers dispute.

“(Elvis) was my fourth child,” Linda Super said. “He was like the center of our lives.”

As for the missing teen, he was found safe and is staying with his biological mother.